Bengaluru: Is this the man who set off the Church Street blast?

Belagavi: Is this the breakthrough that the police were looking for in the Church Street blast that took place in December last year?

Almost a year since the unexpected terror attack, a terror suspect, Mohammad Hussain Qureshi, who was picked up while clicking photos at a prohibited area at the Belagavi Airport recently, has admitted to police that he was present in Church Street when the improvised explosive device went off, killing a woman.

The police have traced his location to Church Street on the day of the blast, through his mobile phone records. He also received a number of calls from foreign countries minutes before the blast near Coconut Grove. Over the next few weeks, Qureshi changed his location frequently and travelled through several districts of the state, and also through 14 other states, including Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

"We have averted a major terror attack with Qureshi's arrest. He was doing a recce of various airports, railway stations and other important installations in Karnataka and neighbouring states at the time of his arrest," said sources close to the investigation.

Qureshi also had a large collection of photos of places in  Bengaluru, including the BMTC office, airport, Mantri Mall and other locations. The police, who are grilling Qureshi, expect to get more information on the terror network in the state and across the country. They have also recovered the phone numbers of some notorious criminals and VIPs of different states from his cellphone and laptop. "But we are not yet clear whether he had the support of any terror outfit in Karnataka," they said.

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