Bhatkal: Long hours of questioning later, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which recently picked up Ismail Musab Abdul Rawoof from Bhatkal for his alleged links to the Islamic State (IS), admitted it had the wrong man in custody. While it tried to gloss over the arrest as a case of “mistaken identity”, the people of Bhatkal feel they are being unnecessarily targeted.
“Attempts are being made to make Bhatkal synonymous with terrorism,” say aggrieved residents. But defending the spotlight on Bhatkal, an officer says it is under the radar of security agencies because many youth from the town have links with terror outfits.
“In the past many had links with the banned SIMI outfit. Later men like Yasin and Riyaz from the town played a key role in forming the Indian Mujahideen, the terror outfit which was behind several bomb blasts in the country.
Recently, many youth from here have been found to have links with IS,” he points out. The town's strong Gulf connection also throws it open for suspicion, he argues. As does “the Navayat community of Bhatkal, which keeps away from other Muslim communities,” he claims.
