Terror suspects picked up after months-long operations: DGP

CHENNAI: The three terror suspects arrested by the Tamil Nadu ATS in the past few days were apprehended after months-long operations codenamed 'Aram' and 'Agazhi', and after coordinating with the police forces in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, State police chief DGP Shankar Jiwal said on Friday.

The State police were constantly pursuing Abubacker Siddique, Mohammed Ali and Sadiq alias ‘Tailor’ Raja during the three decades during which they were on the run, Jiwal told the media here. While Siddique and Ali were picked up from Kadappa district in Andhra, Sadiq was arrested in Karnataka's Vijayapura, where they were involved in running grocery store, tailoring shop, and real estate.

The trio was wanted in cases, including the 1998 Coimbatore serial blasts that killed 58 and injured over 250 people, and the 2013 Malleswaram bomb blast in Bengaluru.

Operations 'Aram' and 'Agazhi' were launched in coordination with the police forces of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka over the last six months to nab the suspects, he said. "The Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) has done very professional and successful operations...investigation is going on," the DGP said.

As they were arrested after so many years, the police used "certain parameters" to ascertain their identities, he said, adding that their identities were confirmed within 24 hours of their detention.

While Siddique and Ali do not seem to be associated with any banned outfits, Sadiq is suspected to be a part of the banned Al-Umma group, he said. A probe is on to ascertain various details, including their possible visits abroad.

The intelligence wing had launched Operation Aram several months ago, with its ATS in coordination with the Coimbatore police to nab Siddique. "He was constantly being pursued also by several central agencies and State police forces from Kerala, Karnataka, etc. He is wanted in several bomb blasts and communal murder cases," said a press note.

"He was absconding for 30 years and yet continued in criminal activities across South India. There were negligible clues available regarding his whereabouts, as there were no photographs of him available apart from his pictures as a youth," it said.

He was believed to be operating under many pseudonyms and was more of a 'loner' who kept changing his location and was capable of doing a variety of jobs, it added. "He is an expert in making IEDs (improvised explosive devices) of high quality," it said.

Using human and technical intelligence, the police team nabbed him from Rayachoti near Kadappa in Andhra Pradesh's Annamayya district. Later, Ali was nabbed and both have been remanded in custody by a local court here.

Later, the State police shared inputs given by Siddique with their Andhra counterparts, based on which the latter conducted searches at his residence and "unearthed explosives and other materials."

Operation 'Agazhi' was launched to nab Saddiq Ali alias ‘Tailor’ Raja, also known as 'Valarntha' Raja alias Shajagan Shaik.

"He is wanted in four sensitive cases, including the 1998 Coimbatore serial bomb blast. He has been on the run for 29 years since 1996. There were no photographs of him beyond his teenage years and he was completely incommunicado with his friends and family members," the release said, adding that he was picked up from Vijayapura in Karnataka on July 9.