Explosives seizure hints at resurgence of Al Ummah
The special investigation division (SID) of Tamil Nadu police probing the recent murder of BJP state general secretary “Auditor” Ramesh scored the first big break with the arrest of five suspected Al-Umma activists and seizure of a large cache of explosives at Melapalayam here late Saturday.
Among the arrested were two history-sheeters Mohammed Thasim and Shahul Hameed alias “Kattai” Shahul, who were nabbed at Melapalayam junction in the night. Questioning them led to the seizure of 142 gelatin sticks weighing 125 gms each and 145 electronic detonators from the house of an old widow Alfath. An accomplice named Anwar Bismi, an auto-driver, had left the large packet with her saying it was Koran, a SID officer said.
He said Bismi had got the parcel from a youth, Mohammed Shamsudin, who in turn received it from one Kutty alias Noorul Ahmed employed in a bakery at Melapalayam. Preliminary investigation revealed that the explosives had reached the place about six weeks ago. A team of Karnataka police has arrived here to question the arrested men in connection with the Bangalore BJP office blast sometime back.
Of the arrested, Thasim had allegedly killed Shanmugavel Pandian of Tirunelveli town in 1997 to avenge the murder of an Al-Umma associate named Anzar the previous year. He also allegedly killed Hairunnisa of Melapala-yam in broad daylight in 2007 because she was in relationship with non-Muslims. Banna Ismail, a suspect in the murder of “Auditor” Ramesh and close relative of Mohd Thasim, is also an accused in the Hairunnisa killing.
While their kin accused the police of foisting cases against them, some local Muslims said the arrested men were “capable of anti-social activities”.
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