On Saturday, the Kerala Police arrested 39-year-old Rahim Kolliyil of Kodungalloor in central Kerala, for suspected links to the six Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists who had sneaked into Tamil Nadu by sea from Sri Lanka and were plotting a major attack across south India.
According to the reports, Rahim was arrested from the premises of Ernakulam first class judicial magistrate where he had come to surrender before the law after his profile was put on lookout notices across the state. A woman hailing from Wayanad and reported to be Rahim’s partner has also been taken into custody earlier.
Reportedly, the intelligence officials said that Rahim acted as a “facilitator for the infiltrators”. The intelligence officials are now in touch with Kochi city police to collect more details about his activities.
Rahim worked as a car mechanic in Bahrain for about 18 years and returned to Kerala in 2018 to set up a high-tech garage at Aluva. He had gone to Bahrain this July on a visit visa and came back to Kerala last Thursday and a hunt was on for him in Tamil Nadu and Kerala over the last two days.
A team of Tamil Nadu police has also reached Kochi to help with the interrogation. On Saturday, the Tamil Nadu police arrested three individuals, including the suspected partner of Rahim for allegedly having links to the group of Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists who have sneaked into the state from Sri Lanka.
Following the arrest of the woman, the Thrissur rural police began to search Rahim’s house in Kodungalloor on Friday but could not find him.
Out of the six Lashkar terrorists, one member is a Pakistani national named Ilyas alias Anwar, while five others are Tamil Muslims from Sri Lanka.
Intelligence agencies had sounded a warning on Thursday midnight that six Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists may have entered Coimbatore from Sri Lanka for possible attacks in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The reports said that the LeT terrorists have disguised themselves as Hindus and may carry out attacks across the state.
Following the terror alert, the security forces have beefed security arrangements at important installations, foreign embassies, tourist spots and worship centres, which could be among the targets of the terrorist group. The officials are also monitoring the coastal areas, particularly the movement of ferries and boats.