Assam youth arrested from Bengaluru for alleged links to terror outfit

The Central Crime Branch of Bengaluru has arrested a man who is suspected to have links with some terror outfits and also detained his accomplices for interrogation, sources in the agency said. Akhtar Hussain Lashkar, who hails from Assam, was arrested on Sunday night, July 24, from the third floor of a multistorey apartment in Tilak Nagar where he was living with some food delivery persons, the sources said. Besides Hussain, four other persons were also detained.

He has been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including one for waging a war against the Government of India. "There was an input from the central agencies following which the trap was laid and he was nabbed," a source said. The CCB sources further said Lashkar had fled north India and was holed up in the city. They said interrogation is on and further details may come out.

According to sources, sleuths of the Central Crime Branch's (CCB) Special Wing in coordination with the Internal Security Division (ISD) and Intelligence Wing raided a residence following a tip-off over the presence of the suspected terrorist. The teams comprised more than 30 personnel.

The Bengaluru police are yet to make an official statement regarding the case. The police sources said that an FIR has been lodged at the Tilaknagar police station and sleuths are questioning the five persons.

Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra lauded the state police for their action and said the Lashkar's local accomplices are also being questioned.

According to the police, Hussain has made contacts with global terror outfits virtually via social media platforms like Facebook and Telegram. He was then contacted by the outfits after which Hussain was set to move to Kashmir and from there he was planning to meet Al Qaeda operatives, the police claimed.