Though Arshad Khan is a close aide of Junaid, his exact role in the terror module case is yet to be established, said a senior police officer.
Published Aug 30, 2023 | 4:24 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 30, 2023 | 4:24 PM
While his role in the terror module is yet to be established, Arshad is involved in at least 17 criminal cases. (Commons)
On Sunday, 27 August, Bengaluru North Division’s RT Nagar Police arrested an associate of a fugitive terror suspect, Junaid, amid high drama near his house in the area.
The arrested accused, Arshad Khan, is believed to be a close associate and confidant of absconding terror suspect Junaid, who has fled the country and is hiding in Dubai, the police said.
Arshad Khan is involved in at least 17 criminal cases and had gone absconding ever since the Central Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths busted the terror module on 19 July.
Arrested Accused Arshad Khan. (Supplied)
The CCB sleuths had recovered live grenades from the house of one of the suspects and an investigation is still underway to ascertain and unravel their plot.
However, the RT Nagar police had been a lookout for Arshad Khan and on Sunday morning, they received credible information that he was visiting his family.
A team of police raided his house and, during the raid, Arshad Khan attempted to escape from the police by inflicting injuries to himself using a knife. He later jumped from the second floor of the building and ran.
However, the cops managed to chase him and pin him down, said a senior police officer. He was then taken into custody for questioning — to ascertain his possible role in the terror module and also to gather information about Junaid.
Though Arshad is a close aide of Junaid, his exact role in the terror module case is yet to be established, a senior police officer told South First. Along with the RT Nagar police, the CCB sleuths might question him as well.
The CCB officials, on 19 July, had arrested five terror suspects from North Bengaluru who were planning to carry out destructive activities in the city. The cops said the five had been radicalised by an overseas-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative, as well as a terrorist in Bangalore Central Jail while they were arrested in different cases.
The police had seized seven country-made pistols, 45 live cartridges, walkie-talkie sets, a few daggers, 12 mobile phones, several SIM cards, and incriminating documents from the five terror suspects. Explosive accessories were also retrieved from their possession.
City police commissioner B Dayananda had also confirmed that the arrested had received funding to carry out their attack. The five arrested were identified as Syed Suhel, Umar, Janid, Mudasir, and Faisal Zahid — all of whom were residents of Kanaka Nagar in Sultanpalya near RT Nagar, the police said.
The prime accused in the case, Junaid, who had fled the country, was one among those arrested in a kidnap-and-murder case that took place in 2017 and was in prison for 18 months before being released on bail. He then came in contact with T Nazir, one of the prime accused in the 2008 Bengaluru serial blasts case, police sources said.
It was Nazir who allegedly radicalised the five suspects to carry out destructive activities in the city. He has links with the Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.
It is Junaid, who is believed to be holed up in Dubai, who provided them with all kinds of assistance, including weapons and other equipment. He had also given them directions to carry out their activities in the city.
All these suspects have been accused of murder, robbery, kidnap, smuggling of red sanders, and other crimes in Bengaluru.
