Terrorism related incidents in Karnataka since 2008

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Date

Place

Incident

1

April 17

Bangalore

Two crude bombs exploded in quick succession outside the M A Chinnaswamy cricket stadium in Bangalore, minutes before an Indian Premier League (IPL) match was to begin, leaving 15 persons injured and creating panic in the packed venue. A third crude bomb was found near Gate number 8 of the stadium, venue of the fixture between Bangalore Royal Challengers and Mumbai Indians, but was defused, Police said. Investigators believe the bomb explosions at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on April 17 were executed by an Indian Mujahideen (IM) cell led by Mohammad Zarar Siddi Bawa, Police sources told The Hindu. Karnataka-born Bawa—also known as ‘Yasin Bhatkal'—is allegedly a key figure in a series of urban bombings executed by the IM between 2005 and 2008 that claimed hundreds of lives. Bawa, Police said, was the organisation's key-bomb maker and his devices were used in the attacks.

2

June 11

Bangalore

Bangalore Police filed an additional charge sheet in the court against Madani and five others. In the chargesheet, Madani was reported to be absconding. The judge admitted the charge sheet on June 16. However, it will take some time for Police to take the NBW from the court and execute it. Cops said they would take the NBW only after some groundwork is completed. The case hearing is on June 23. Since the trial is yet to begin, the accused have to be produced before the magistrate

June 16

Bangalore

The first additional chief metropolitan magistrate on June 16 has ordered a Non-Bailable Warrant (NBW) against People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Abdul Nasar Madani, in connection with the July 25, 2008 Bangalore serial bomb blasts case, reports Times of India. The court has issued body warrant against two more accused in the case — Tadinyandavaeeda Naseer and Safaz — who are now lodged in a Kerala jail. Police sources said that a team would leave for Kerala to get custody of Naseer and Safaz. With Madani’s supporters warning of consequences if their leader was arrested, Kerala Chief Minister V. S. Achuthanandan told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram on June 16 that necessary steps would be taken to maintain law and order.

August 3

Bangalore

The Karnataka High Court denied anticipatory bail to Abdul Nasir Madani, chairman of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in connection with the July 25, 2008 Bangalore serial bomb blasts case, in which one woman was killed and 20 people were injured, according to The Hindu. The Karnataka government opposed the petition, saying that Mr. Madani was involved in a criminal conspiracy and prima facie there was a case against him. The PDP leader was one of the 32 people charge-sheeted in the case and the city police had established his role in the case. Justice N. Ananda accepted the arguments of the State and rejected the petition. Madani is yet to appear in court, which has issued a non-bailable warrant against him.

August 13

Kodagu District

The Bangalore Police arrested Vinay Kumar (30) of Hassan and Devaiah (33) from South Kodagu. The two were trying to send Pasham Sridhar (27), Koyi Saratchandra (39) Darshanam Pradeep Kumar (29) and Gaddam Pavan Kumar (38) to Dubai where they would meet Altaf, a native of Baseri Kattemane near Mangalore. Altaf is one of the associates of Chhota Shakeel, an aide of Dawood Ibrahim. However, the four were arrested by Hyderabad Police and they were supposed to leave for Dubai on August 4. According to the Bangalore Police Commissioner, Shankar Bidari, the four arrested by Hyderabad Police were leaders of naxal [left wing extremist] organisations. Altaf had sent visas for four of them and to and fro air tickets by mail. Addressing the media on August 13, Bidari said the arrests clearly indicate a link between ISI and Left-wing extremists. "It has exposed the Pak link of naxals and Maoists. The ISI has engaged Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Shakeel to Maoist leaders in India to facilitate them to carry out terror acts throughout the country," Bidari said. Times of India adds that an unlicensed pistol, seven bullets, visa and passport documents and INR 1 million in cash were seized from Devaiah's house in Rabindranath Tagore Nagar in north Bangalore, Bidari said. "Bangalore police received credible inputs to the effect that the ISI had engaged Dawood Ibrahim and through his accomplice Chhota Shakeel to engage Maoists - that is Naxalite leaders in India - and instigate them to commit terrorist acts," the Police Commissioner said. He said Vinay Kumar had received INR 2.5 million from a person identified as Altaf alias Rakesh of Dakshina Kannada to organize terror acts

6

August 24

Bangalore

Karnataka Home Minister V.S Acharya claimed that the leader of PDP Abdul Nasir Madani had confessed of his direct involvement in the twin explosions outside Chinnaswamy cricket stadium ahead of an Indian Premier League (IPL) match in Bangalore on April 17, 20009. "During interrogation, Madani revealed that he was directly involved," the Home Minister said. On April 17, 2009 an hour before the IPL match, two low-intensity explosions were triggered near a packed Chinnaswamy stadium, leaving around 15 persons, including five Security Force personnel, injured.

7

August 26

Bangalore

The First Additional City Metropolitan Magistrate in Bangalore in Karnataka remanded PDP leader Abdul Nasir Madani to judicial custody till September 7. Madani is accused of masterminding serial explosions in Bangalore on July 25, 2008 in which two persons were killed and 20 others were injured.

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The Police arrested nine Kerala-based terrorists of the Indian Mujahideen outfit in connection with the July 25, 2008 serial bomb blasts. They were identified as Abdul Sattar alias Sainuddin, his son Sarfuddin, Abdul Jabber, Mujeeb Mohiddin, Faizal Abdul Rehman, Abdul Jaleel Moosa, Manaf Mohammad alias Rahees, Badruddin Noor Ahmed and Sakariya. Most of the arrested had been named in the charge-sheet filed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Kerala Police before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court at Thalassery.

The Police arrested two unidentified Indian Mujahideen (IM) cadres from an unspecified place in the capital city for their alleged involvement in the Mumbai terrorist attacks of November 26, 2008. Sources said the main accused in the Bangalore blasts case, Abdul Sattar, who is presently in Police custody, had revealed the whereabouts of the other two accused during interrogation. These militants, along with Abdul Sattar, are reported to be part of the Shahabuddin Brigade, a south India module of the IM.

3

March 3

Bangalore

A team of the Research and Analysis Wing (R and AW) personnel reportedly tracked down an absconding accused in the Bangalore serial blasts case in Muscat, and sneaked him out of Oman, since India doesn't have an extradition treaty with that country. Sarfaraz Nawaz, 32, who allegedly played a major role in financing the Bangalore blasts, had reportedly sought refuge in Muscat. Investigating officials told that an R and AW team managed to track down Nawaz in Muscat. They added that Nawaz was ''smuggled into'' Bangalore on a chartered aircraft and the Bangalore Police are currently questioning him. Abdul Sattar, the prime accused in the case, had revealed Nawaz''s role in the serial blasts during his interrogation. Nawaz was reportedly close to Riyaz Bhatkal, a key LeT operative, who later took over the charge of the Indian Mujahideen.

4

March 8

Bangalore

An important SIMI leader, Sarfaraz Navaz, who reportedly funded the Bangalore serial bomb blasts on July 25, 2008, confessed during interrogation that the LeT was behind the July 25, 2008 Bangalore bomb blasts. Sarfaraz, who hails from Ernakulam in Kerala. According to Bangalore Police Commissioner Shankar Bidari, Sarfaraz collected about INR 320000 from like-minded people ahead of the bomb blasts. He also took part in reconnaissance of various spots and attempted to send a suspected terrorist involved in the blast across the border to train with the LeT in Pakistan. "Sarfaraz has links with LeT and has been in touch with Wali a.k.a. Rehan, a key member of LeT. We are sure that some more men will be picked up based on information provided by him," the Commissioner said. Sarfaraz reportedly completed a three-year course (1995-98) at Nadwat-ul-Ulema (Institute of Islamic Scholarship) in Lucknow and joined as office secretary at the SIMI head office in New Delhi in 2000. Subsequently, he kept in touch with SIMI leaders from Kerala as he travelled to Muscat and Oman for work.

5

May 19

Bangalore

The Bangalore Police filed a chargesheet against 26 persons, including four foreign nationals, for their involvement in the July 25, 2008 serial bomb blasts case. Among the Indian nationals whose names figure in the chargesheet are Abdul Sattar, his son Sarfuddin, Abdul Jabbar, Mujeeb Mohiddin, Faizal Abdul Rehman, Abdul Jaleel Moosa, Manaf Mohammad alias Rahees, Badruddin Noor Ahamed, Sakariya and Sarfarz Nawaz. The chargesheet also mentions the names of Abdul Sattar's son-in-law Abdul Raheem, Mohammed Fiaz Hamsa, Fayis Abdul Rahman and Mohammed Yasin, who were killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir in October 2008. The four foreign nationals include a Pakistani national and an Omani national. "We have established their involvement in the conspiracy. We are not revealing their names as they are yet to be apprehended," said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Alok Kumar. The accused have been charged with waging war against the country under Section 121A of the IPC and causing grievous injury and conspiracy under Section 120B of IPC.

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Place

Incident

1

January 28

Honnali

Karnataka Police arrested a cook, Mohammed Riazuddin Nasir, and a medical student, Assadullah Abbubukar, for alleged terrorist links. The duo revealed that they had plans of bombing the Hubli airport. The police recovered some CDs and maps of various installations from the duo. Nasir later confessed that he had visited Goa immediately after the twin blasts in Hyderabad on August 25, 2007 to identify beaches for organising serial bomb blasts.

2

February 12

Dharwad

The Corps of Detectives, while investigating a terrorist module unearthed by the Davangere police, arrested an electrician, Shakeel, for his alleged links with the SIMI. Shakeel was a resident of Koppadakeri in the Dharwad district and had helped the SIMI activists to hold two meetings, one near the Mastansab Darga on Saudatti Road and the other at the Halligere forests in Hubli in November 2007. Shakeel reportedly participated in these meetings where some 25 SIMI activists from Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala allegedly discussed plans to carry out acts of sabotage.

3

February 21

Bangalore

Police arrested a software engineer, Mohammed Yahya Kammakutty, for suspected links with the banned SIMI from Guruappanapalya under Mico Layout police station limits. However, four of his accomplices escaped during the police operation. He is a native of Kerala and was working in a leading multinational information technology company in the city and he was reportedly under watch by the Bangalore Police for the past few days.

4

February 26

Bangalore

Police arrested a Bangalore resident Syed Sameer alias Sameer Sadaq from Gurappanapalya for his suspected links with the SIMI. He is reportedly an associate of the arrested software engineer and SIMI functionary Mohammed Yahya Kammakutty who was arrested on February 21. Sameer was earlier arrested by the Gujarat Police in 2004 for his association with the SIMI. Bangalore Police suspects that Sameer attended SIMI meetings held in November 2007 on the outskirts of Hubli and the forests abutting Goa, which were attended by 25 SIMI activists from Karnataka, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh.

5

April 27

Mysore

A combined team of the Manipur and Karnataka Police arrested six People’s United Liberation Front (PULF) militants from a hotel in Mysore. They were identified as ‘general secretary’ Mohammed Ibrahim alias Qusi alias M.I. Khan, ‘secretary external affairs and chief of army’ Mohammed Nurjaman alias Deny, ‘organisation-cum-publicity-secretary’ Mohammed Abdul Jabbar alias Belal Khan, ‘deputy commander in-chief-cum-finance secretary’ Mohammed Nasir Khan alias Thadoi alias Keshorjit alias Boy, ‘private’ Mohammed Mustafa and ‘private’ Mohammed Nur Safi. Four mobile phones and incriminating documents were recovered from them.

6

May 10

Hubli

An explosion at the district court caused extensive damage to the premises although no casualties were reported. The explosive was placed under the witness box of the JMFC court hall and was reportedly detonated by a mobile phone. Police Commissioner Narayana Nadamani later stated that as per preliminary investigations, the explosion could be the handiwork of the banned Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and SIMI.

7

May 27

Belgaum

Police arrested a Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) cadre, identified as Nasir Liyaqat Ali Patel, for allegedly spreading messages of hatred. Police also recovered the hard disc from his computer.

8

July 25

Bangalore

One woman was killed and seven persons injured in a series of eight low intensity blasts. The explosions were reported within 45 minutes from 1.15 pm (IST). The first explosion occurred at a bus stop near the Madivala check post, off the busy Hosur Road, around 1.15 pm. Sudha Ravi, who was waiting for a bus with her husband, was killed on the spot, while two persons were injured. Two more explosives went off in the adjoining Adugodi area, injuring three persons. Similar low-intensity explosions were reported from three places on Mysore Road and at two spots in the heart of the city — near the Mallya Hospital and near the Rashtriya Military School on the Langford Road.

9

July 27

Ramanagaram

The Karnataka Police recovered seven kilograms of explosive material from Channapatna in the Ramanagaram district, a place where an explosion had occurred on July 24.

10

August 5

Belgaum

The Anti-Terrorist Cell (ATC) attached to the Belgaum district Police arrested three suspected SIMI cadres. They were identified as Naveed Khaji and Ansar Nizami, both from Malmaruti area, and Sadiq Mulla of Azad Nagar. The arrest took place on the basis of information given by suspected SIMI cadres Tanveer Mulla and Iqbal Jakati, who were arrested recently. With the arrest of these three, the number of arrested suspected SIMI activists in the district rose to 11.

August 19

Bijapur

A team of the Gujarat ATS arrested dentist Mohammed Salim Honali (31). Honali used to work with the MA Rangoonwala College of Dental Sciences and Research Centre at the Azam Campus in Pune till May 2008 before he was laid off. ATS officials suspect that Honali not only had a significant role in the recent Ahmedabad blasts but was also brainwashing other youth to bring them into the radical fold. ATS officials said jihadi literature was recovered from all four suspects.

September 25

Bangalore

A SIMI cadre was arrested in connection with the serial blasts in Bangalore on July 25. Mohammad Samee Bagewadi alias Mohammad Samee attended most of the important camps organised by the SIMI at Castle Rock near Hubli in Karnataka, Vagamon in Kerala and other places and also underwent training in these camps. Bagewadi, a resident of Bijapur, was allegedly influenced by SIMI's ideology, and was closely associated with its leaders such as Safdar Nagori, Hafeez Hussain alias Adnan, Shibly, Tauqeer, Shahbaaz, Abu Bashar and others, police sources said.

October 27

Belgaum

The Belgaum police arrested two terror suspects, identified as Nasir Abdul Majeed Rangarez (29) of Azadnagar and Naveed Muneersab Qazi (28) of Mahanteshnagar, from different localities in the city alleged to be involved in terrorist activities.

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Incident

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January 5

Bangalore

Police arrested Imran alias Bilal, a suspected terrorist hailing from Jammu and Kashmir. A bag containing an AK-47 assault rifle, 300 live rounds of AK-47 ammunition, four AK-47 magazines, five hand grenades, a satellite phone, mobile phones, SIM cards, a Bangalore city map and other documents was seized from him.

2

August 17

Bangalore

Police foiled a plot to trigger explosions in the city by arresting a four-member gang near Dattatreya Temple in the Banashankari area. A revolver, ten detonators, 20 gelatin sticks and other weapons were recovered from Asgar alias Asgar Pasha bin Abdul Rasheed and Umar bin Mohammad Sharif, both from Bangalore, Jilani bin Wallisab of Desnur village in the Bellary district and Mohammad Zaheer bin Shafiulla Khan of Kowl Bazaar Street in Bellary. City Police Commissioner, N. Achutha Rao, said that another accused Sameer is absconding.