Arrested IM operatives procured, delivered explosives: Police

Bengaluru: Four suspected operatives of banned outfit Indian Mujahideen arrested recently were part of a terror module that was used to procure, fabricate and deliver deadly explosives, a top police official said Monday.

The IM operatives transferred money through Hawala channels for funding and at least one of them attended meetings in a foreign country, where a conspiracy was hatched to manufacture and deliver deadly explosives, which were probably used for blasts in different parts of the country, he said.

"I would say that a picture is emerging based on the interrogation that we have done. This was a module that was used by the IM as well as the other terrorist organisations to procure, fabricate, supply and deliver deadly explosives," Bengaluru police commissioner M N Reddi told reporters.

"We are also aware that these explosive devices in all probability have been used in some of the blasts across the country in last few years. We are in the process of establishing very clearly the connectivity between these various events - that will take some time...." he added.

Bengaluru Police on Thursday had claimed to have unearthed a terror module of IM with the arrest of its three alleged operatives and seizure of a huge cache of explosives during raids on their houses at Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada district and here. The fourth alleged operative was arrested on Sunday at Mangaluru international airport before flying to Dubai.

Reddi said there was nothing so far to link the arrested persons with the December 28 Bengaluru blast that claimed the life of a woman.

Asked whether the foreign country where one of the accused had travelled is Pakistan, Reddi said, "I would say that it would be easy for us to name a country once we have very concrete evidence and that concrete evidence is in the process of being collected."

On the spread of the network to other parts of the state or the country, he said, "All leads that come to us will be examined. We will go to the logical conclusion to see whether there were any such individuals or groups located in other parts of the country who have participated in this process."