The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Karnataka Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) have arrested a man named Mohammad Suhail in Davanagere, Karnataka, in connection with the Ram Mandir bomb threat case. As per reports, Suhail, a resident of Lakhnauti village of the Gangoh police station area in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, is linked to a Pakistan-based terrorist organisation. He was working as a painter in Karnataka.
The investigation agencies found Pakistani phone numbers, suspicious WhatsApp groups, and photographs featuring weapons on Suhail’s mobile phone. His arrest comes after two terror suspects were nabbed in Tumakuru and Davanagere by the agencies. 22-year-old Zameer Khan was arrested from Davanagere, and 24-year-old Alla Baksh from Tumakuru on 4th June. It is reported that Suhail’s name emerged during the interrogation of the two terror suspects. However, Home Minister Priyank Kharge has denied any direct link between Suhail’s arrest and the two suspects apprehended on June 4.
According to Davanagere Superintendent of Police HT Shekhar, Suhail was in contact with Pakistan-based terrorists through social media. “Preliminary investigations reveal that he was in contact with terrorists via social media. This case appears similar to the one reported in the Tumakuru district, but further evidence will be gathered to verify the facts. We have also received information that a group of 10 people has entered Karnataka; this is also being investigated,” SP Shekhar said.
Mayank Pathak, SP (Rural) of Saharanpur, said that a phone call was received at the Gangoh police station from Karnataka on Wednesday evening (24th June). The call informed that a Saharanpur resident named Suhail had been arrested in Karnataka. Abhishek Singh, DIG of the Saharanpur Range, assured that if any agency seeks assistance, the local police will take the necessary action.
Suhail was reportedly part of several suspicious online groups. Investigative agencies found audio clips on his phone, in which he is heard discussing an attack on the Ram Mandir. The agencies are probing his links with wider networks, his associates and financial transactions involving him in Saharanpur and other districts of the state.
