Bangalore, Aug 29 (IANS) The Karnataka Police are sending a team to Bihar to question arrested Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal for his alleged involvement in the Bangalore twin blasts in 2008 and 2010, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said Thursday.
“We are sending a police team to Bihar, where Bhatkal was brought (late Wednesday) after his arrest on the India-Nepal border. Our team will seek his custody to interrogate him in connection with the blasts in Bangalore,” Siddaramaiah told reporters here.
The 30-year-old terror suspect, also known as Ahmed Siddibapa, hails from Bhatkal coastal town in Uttara Kannada district near Mangalore, about 350 km from here, police said.
Bhatkal is one of the most wanted terrorists in the country for his alleged role in serial blasts in many cities and towns over the last six-seven years.
“Our state intelligence sleuths were part of the NIA (National Intelligence Agency) team, which arrested Bhatkal, as their services were sought to identify him and verify his background,” Siddaramaiah claimed.
Bangalore Police Commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar said his department was in touch with the federal intelligence agencies for details on Bhatkal’s arrest and to ascertain when he would be made available to the state for investigation.
“We will seek Yasin’s custody so that he could be brought to Bangalore soon for interrogation in the city’s twin blasts,” Auradkar told reporters.
One woman died in serial blasts that rocked the city July 25, 2008 and 15 people, including five security men, were injured in the twin blasts near the M. Chinnaswamy cricket stadium April 17, 2010 an hour prior to a T20 match of the Indian Premier League tournament.
“It is too early to comment on when Bhatkal would be brought to Bangalore for investigations,” Auradkar said.
