A small time timber merchant was arrested by the City Crime Branch (CCB), bringing to 15 the number of people arrested in connection with the plot to assassinate journalists and leaders with right-wing leanings. The accused, identified as Syed Tanzim Ahmad, 23, is a resident of Gowripalya, who is accused of monitoring the movement of targets to aid the assassination plot.
Police said that it was Syed, who had provided Shoaib Ahmad Mirja, alias Chotu, and Abdul Hakeem Jamadar with the necessary information about Kannada columnist Pratap Simha and his key movements to facilitate the assassination. “We arrested Syed Tanzim Ahmad based on the information provided by Shoaib Ahmad alias Chotu that the Kannada newspaper columnist’s every move was tracked by Syed. Hence, we have arrested him,” said Joint Commissioner (crime) B Dayanand. Police said that Syed was picked up by the CCB sleuths on November 4 from Vasanth Nagar. “He was part of the terror module and after the arrest of Shoaib and Jamadar he had gone underground,” Mr Dayanand said.
Syed was detained on November 3: Family
Family says police detained Syed a day earlier, while police claim that Syed Tanzim was arrested on November 4 , the family says otherwise. “On November 3, a man came and asked for Syed. He said there is a parcel for him. He had come in a blue colour Jeep and he told my brother that the parcel was in the jeep.
The man then opened the back door of the jeep and two more people in civilian dress came from behind and pushed my brother into the jeep,” Syed Mustaq, Tanzim's brother said. “ I ran behind the jeep. A person in the jeep told me that they are from CCB, and that my brother is a witness and they needed him to identify somebody,” Mustaq said. The family has filed a missing complaint with the JJ Nagar police. However, when DC checked with the Joint Commissioner (crime), he maintained that the arrest was carried out as stated. He also insisted that Syed Tanzim had been produced before the magistrate and had been taken into police custody for 14 days.