Bengaluru: The arrest of the murder accused and four hardcore jihadis from a house in Sonenahalli slum in Viveknagar police station limits in the City on Wednesday has raised a serious concern of the formation of new terror modules and spread of jihadis in South India, who unlike their proscribed mentor organisations – Al Umma, Jehad Committee, Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and the Indian Mujahidden (IM) have been split into “independent” modules for operational purposes by forces “unknown,” said an Intelligence officer.
“The four accused, who were arrested on Wednesday are jihadis, but may not have any links with Al Umma. They are not known to the April 2013 Malleswaram blast accused,” added the officer. The police are however, not ruling out the involvement of the fugitive terror leader from TN – Abu Baqr Siddiqui behind the new sleeper cells in this part of the country, said the officer.
The accused Abdul Shameem, Sadiq, Shahid Ali Nawaz and Samiullah were arrested from the house of Samilullah in Sonnenhalli slum in a joint operation by the Tamil Nadu and City police for alleged involvement in the June 18 murder of Hindu Munnani general secretary - Suresh Kumar in Ambattur in TN. The accused are originally from Tamil Nadu, but Samiullah and Sadiq had long migrated to Bengaluru, said an official source.
“Shameem and Nawaz have confessed to the crime and were remorseless. They said that they were directed to assassinate Mr. Kumar, but were unwilling to part with any further information,” said the officer. The accused were living in Bengaluru for the last 2-3 months.
Samiullah - a 43-year-old painter from Tamil Nadu, who had migrated to Bengaluru 30 years ago, lives in a house in Sonnenahalli. “Originally belonging to a Hindu backward class community, Samiullah had reportedly converted to Islam in his mid teens. He is twice married and has grown up children,” said the officer.
