Cops record statement of 3 terrorists

Tirupati: The Puttur police on Tuesday recorded the statements of three Al-Ummah terrorists who were arrested by the Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh police in a joint commando operation at Gate Puttur in Puttur town of Chittoor district on October 5 last year. Close to eight months after they were arrested in Puttur, the local police finally got to record the statements of the three terrorists who were hiding in Puttur for close to a year before their arrests.

According to sources, the three terrorists, Police Fakruddin, Bilal Malik and Panna Ismail, confessed to the local police that the Al-Ummah extremists had planned to target Hindutva leaders for their aggressive propaganda. They also revealed that they had plotted to plant explosives in the Srivari umbrellas carried in procession from Chennai to Tirumala during the Srivari annual Brahmotsavams last year. However, their plan had failed after Chennai's Q branch police nabbed Police Fakruddin, which led to a joint commando operation by the AP & TN police on October 5 last year to arrest Bilal Malik and Panna Ismail. With the Tamil Nadu cops taking away the trio after their arrests to their state, the Puttur police, who had also booked the three terrorists, finally got to record their statements on Tuesday.

In view of their questioning by the Puttur police on Tuesday, security was beefed up under the Puttur limits. According to sources, the three terrorists are likely to be shifted to Vellore central prison by Wednesday. The three are to appear before the Puttur court on June 16 for the next hearing.