TN cops nab alleged ammunition supplier

Tamil Nadu police on Monday arrested Aijaz Pasha, believed to be part of a terror module to foment communal disturbance in Bengaluru.

Pasha, a resident of Ramanagar district, was allegedly hiding in Bengaluru. He was arrested based on a tip-off.

Tamil Nadu police were assisted by the Bengaluru police’s Central Crime Branch (CCB).

A senior CCB officer confirmed to DH that Pasha was arrested from Gurappanapalya in southern Bengaluru.

The officer said on the condition of anonymity: “Pasha is the accused number 15 in the case that was registered under the UAPA Act. However, he is directly involved in the murder of Wilson, 56, a special sub-inspector. The officer was shot down on January 8 by miscreants along the border of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.”

Preliminary investigation revealed that Pasha was among the individuals who provided ammunition to the two assailants who killed Wilson.

The assailants — Toufeeq and Abdul Shameem — were caught when they were trying to escape to Kerala.

On Sunday, this newspaper reported about the seizure of ammunition from the duo and that the same had matched with the pistol and bullets seized in Suddagunte Palya on January 7.

When interrogated, the duo spilled the beans about Pasha giving them the ammunition.

“Once the TN police finish their investigation, we will ask for the custody of Pasha under the UAPA case,” another CCB officer revealed.

The TN police produced Pasha before a Chennai court and took him into police custody until January 27.

The CCB, meanwhile, is preparing to bring a few terrorism suspects on a body warrant to the city in connection with the alleged plot.

On January 10, Suddaguntepalya police opened a case against 17 suspected former members of the banned al-Badr militant group. The CCB claimed that the individuals wanted to form a splinter group of al-Badr and were meeting at the house of Mehboob Pasha at Gurappanapalya, off BTM Layout, in southern Bengaluru.

A senior police officer said some of the suspects named in the FIR were previously arrested by Chennai and Delhi police. “We have made a list of these individuals and will shortly take them into custody for further investigation,” he added.

A team of CCB officers will be sent to Chennai and Delhi and file applications in the local courts for the custodial interrogation of the suspects, the officer explained.

Meanwhile, police let go of two individuals from Gundlupet, Chamarajanagar, who were detained for questioning in the case.

The men were questioned about their links with Pasha, who is believed to be hiding somewhere in Chamarajanagar, a senior officer said.

“They didn’t have anything to do with the group, so we released them after taking their statement,” the officer added.