Author: Nitasha Natu
Publication: The Times of India
Date: October 5, 2008
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai/Local_traders_are_funding_terror_Ops_Mangalore_cops/articleshow/3560866.cms
The Mangalore police, which busted an Indian
Mujahideen (IM) support cell
On Friday, have said that local businessmen
have primarily been financing the terror operations.
"We have recovered Rs 11.39 lakh in cash
from the house of Mudassar, an accomplice of Roshan Khan alias Riyaz Bhatkal.
We are now probing the source of these funds. But more than hawala operators,
we suspect local businessmen to be supplying the funds. These are small businessmen,''
inspector-general of police (western range) Ashit Mohan Prasad said. The police
have been hunting for Bhatkal, a key member of IM who masterminded the recent
bomb blasts across the country.
Prasad added that most of the IM suspects
had regular jobs and businesses, and the money generated there was also used
for terror operations. "Amongst the four men that we have arrested, Mohammad
Ali is a real estate agent while Ahmed Bava runs a store.''
The police are also exploring the possibility
of the IM scouring college premises for new recruits. One of the suspects
arrested on Friday, Javed Ali, is a 20-year-old student of the Ullal Quranic
College. Computers and a diary were recovered from him. "Mangalore is
an education hub and impressionable students can be used to provide technical
back-up to the terror outfit,'' an officer said.
According to the Karnataka police, the four
arrested on Friday have been in Mangalore for not more than 3-4 months. "Each
of the accused has been taking instructions from only one person in the IM
and claims to be unaware of any other member's identity. The SIM cards, found
in their possession, have been used exclusively for terror activities and
there isn't a single other phone number in the log. They have admitted to
having collaborated in the placing of several bombs in Surat, which did not
go off,'' Prasad said.
Senior officials said that Bhatkal, a Mangalore
resident, had been to Mumbai earlier, but for the past few months, he was
in Mangalore itself.
