Al Qaeda recruiter in Bengaluru 10 days before arrest

Bengaluru: The city, which is known to be a hub of terror modules and sleeper cells, is once again reportedly on the terror map with the Intelligence agencies now searching for the Al Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) modules in Bengaluru after the alleged explosive revelation of Maulana Abdul Rehman (37), who was arrested on December 16 in a joint operation by Delhi police (special cell) and Bhubaneswar-Cuttack police from Jagatpur in Odisha for alleged links with the AQIS.

Rehman, according to top Intelligence sources, has reportedly a “relatively” strong network in Bengaluru and used to “frequently visit” the City. Even 10 days before his arrest, Rehman had visited the city. As per the First Information Report (FIR), which was lodged by the Delhi police, Rehman was reportedly engaged in recruiting cadres for AQIS and had travelled to Pakistan, Dubai, London and Saudi Arabia. In India, his link was mostly in Karnataka, Jharkhand and UP,” said the officer.

He added that Rehman’s frequent visits to Bengaluru could be to “recruit cadres and expand the funding channels for AQIS operations and his madarsa in Tangi area of Cutttack district, where he was ‘teaching’. In fact, 10 days before his arrest he was in Bengaluru. He used to visit other places in Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Jharkhand as well, but Bengaluru and nearby districts in Karnataka are learnt to be his frequent destinations,” the officer added.

Rehman is a resident of Jagatpur in Cuttack. He is a Ph.D. scholar in Arabic and Islamic Studies from the Deobandh University in Saharanpur in UP. He was arrested after his accomplice - Mohammed Asif, a resident of Sambhal in UP, who was arrested by Delhi police from Seelampur in northeast Delhi on December 14 for allegedly working for AQIS gave him away.

The Intelligence agencies are now looking for another resident of Sambhal - Sanaul Haq known as Maulana Asim Umar, who was appointed amir of AQIS by its chief, Ayman al-Zawahiri, when it was formed as an affiliate body of al-Qaeda in September 2014, to coordinate terror activities in India.