Youth picked up by NIA was ex-contact of Bhatkal: Parrikar

A local youth picked up last week by NIA, probing IM alleged co-founder Yasin Bhatkal's terror trail, had been a contact of Bhatkal, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has said.

"The youth picked up by NIA was a contact of Yasin Bhatkal but parted ways with him after knowing him," Parrikar told reporters here yesterday.

"The youth about whom you are talking is actually the person who showed NIA the place of stay of Yasin," he said to a question about the youth from mediapersons.

Meanwhile, slum dwellers of Chimbel village near here were shocked to know that a youth among them was picked by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for being a local link of Bhatkal.

The youth, yet to be named by NIA or local police, was a local contact of Bhatkal, who was in Goa during 2011-12.

"We often have police raiding here looking out for bad elements in the slum. The locals always cooperate and hand over whoever is wanted. But we were shocked this time as it is something to do with terrorists," Mani Ashraf Baig, a social worker in the slum area, told PTI.

The slum, housing around 40,000 shanties, has people from across India settled here.
Bhatkal had lived in a rented house at Anjuna village in Goa from where NIA has recovered material used for bomb making.

Police said a NIA team is in Goa to continue with the probe.