TN’s most wanted militant in police net

CHENNAI: In a major breakthrough the ATS of TN police on Tuesday arrested Abubakkar Siddique - the dreaded explosive expert and Tamil Nadu’s most wanted militant - from his hideout in Andhra Pradesh. Police were looking for him for the last 30 years. He carried Rs 5 lakh reward.

Considered to be the mentor militants like Bilal Malik, ‘Police’ Fakruddin and Panna Ismail, the 60-year-old was carrying a Rs 5 lakh reward for his head. He was arrested along with another wanted man named Mohamed Ali.

The two were wanted in connection with a series of deadly bomb blasts, murder, and terror-related cases across Tamil Nadu and neighbouring states.

Acting on specific intelligence inputs, a special police team apprehended Abubacker Siddique, native of Nagoor, and Mohammed Ali (alias Yunus/Mansoor, resident of Melapalayam, Tirunelveli) in Annamayya district, Andhra Pradesh.

Abubacker Siddique (absconding since 1995): Siddique is implicated in a string of high-profile incidents spanning nearly 20 years. The charges against him include:

• The 1995 bomb blast at the Hindu Munnani office in Chintadripet, Chennai.
• A parcel bomb explosion in Nagore in 1995, which resulted in the death of one Thangam.
• Coordinated bomb planting at seven locations across Chennai, Trichy, Coimbatore, and Kerala in 1999, including the Chennai Police Commissioner’s Office in Egmore.
• An attempt to plant a pipe bomb during former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani’s Rath Yatra in Madurai in 2011.
• The murder of Dr. Arvind Reddy in Vellore in 2012.
• A bomb blast near the BJP office in Malleswaram, Bengaluru, in 2013.
• Mohammed Ali (Absconding for 26 years) is specifically wanted in connection with the 1999 coordinated bomb planting incidents at multiple locations in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The arrest of Siddique, after 30 years on the run, and Ali, after 26 years, represents a major success for the Tamil Nadu Police. It brings hope for closure in several long-pending, sensitive cases involving terrorism and communal violence that have remained unresolved for decades.

The Tamil Nadu Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) will produce both accused before the Judicial Magistrate for remand to judicial custody. Their arrest marks a crucial step towards advancing the legal proceedings in the numerous serious cases linked to them.