Hizbul Mujahideen member from Jammu and Kashmir held in Bengaluru

A man said to be a member of the Hizbul Mujahideen has been arrested in Bengaluru following a joint operation by the Karnataka and Jammu & Kashmir police. The accused, Talib Hussain was arrested on June 5, police sources said on Tuesday. According to sources, Hussain had fled Jammu and Kashmir with his wife and children as the hunt for him was intensified by the armed forces, and was hiding in Bengaluru.

Hussain had allegedly taken shelter at a mosque in Srirampura in the Karnataka capital and used to deliver sermons during Friday prayers. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday, June 7, confirmed Hussain's arrest from the city. Asked if the terrorist was arrested, Bommai told reporters, "Yes."

"We will provide whatever assistance is required to the Jammu and Kashmir police. In the past too, such arrests had taken place in Sirsi and Bhatkal. The Jammu and Kashmir police have taken this very seriously," he added.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said the state police has begun a probe following Hussain's arrest. The arrested man was a member of the  Hizbul Mujahideen and he allegedly worked as the commander, Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbag Singh has said. Police sources said Talib Hussain belongs to Kishtwar district of Nagaseni Tehsil. He had joined the Hizbul Mujahideen outfit in 2016.

The state police are coordinating with their Jammu and Kashmir counterparts and intensified investigation to identify those individuals and organisations, which harboured him, he said. Stringent action will be taken and cases will be registered against those local individuals who gave the suspected terrorist refuge, provided mobile phone and helped procure documents. He also said a police team left for Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.