Blast arrest: DVS, Suresh Kumar defend police action

Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda on Wednesday justified the action of the State police in arresting a terror suspect, Mohammed Khafil Akthar, in Bihar’s Darbhanga district recently.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a public function, Gowda said: “This was a sensitive case. Any intimation to the local (Bihar) police could have tipped the suspect off, making it opportune for him to escape. Hence, preemptive action was necessary.”

Gowda said he had spoken to Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi and added that he would also speak to his counterpart Nitish Kumar explaining the scenario.

On Tuesday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had raised objections to the actions of the Karnataka Police, which he said had “brazenly violated the law of the land”, since the State police had failed to give prior information to the local police about an arrest within their jurisdiction.

Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister S Suresh Kumar too defended the State police action in arresting the alleged Indian Mujahideen operative, saying this was an “exceptional case.”

“The State police feared that the suspected terrorist would flee if they had shared information with the local police. Hence, the arrest was made without informing anybody.

The DG&IG of Karnataka (A R Infant) has appraised the Bihar chief minister in this regard,” he said.

The police team from Karnataka arrested Mohammed Khafil Akthar on Sunday in connection with the twin blasts at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore in 2010.

Meanwhile, a special team of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) led by Ulsoorgate Assistant Commissioner of Police B N Nyamegouda that arrested the suspected IM terrorist in Bihar on Sunday, arrived in the City late Tuesday night with the suspect.

The State police had produced Mohammed Khafil Akthar, 26, before the Ranchi Court and obtained a transit warrant for him before he was brought to Bangalore.

The City police on Wednesday produced him before the First Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Court in the City. The court granted the police the custody of the suspected terrorist for a period of 15 days. His custody would end on May 22.