2011-Advani bomb case and related cases: 3 suspects arrested

In a major operation, Crime Branch CID of Tamil Nadu Police today arrested Panna Ismail and Bilal Malik, two key suspects in the 2011 Advani bomb and many other cases, after hundreds of armed personnel surrounded a house here and forced them to come out using tear gas.

A Police Inspector was severely injured in the incident, while Panna Ismail suffered bullet injuries, police said, adding, the policeman was being treated in a private hospital in Chennai, while Ismail was being admitted to Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital, where three-tier protection has been accorded.

A gun and some explosives were also recovered from a house in the area, police said, adding they are being inspected for leads.

With this and yesterday's arrest of 'Police' Fakruddin, three of the four suspects in the cases were arrested by Crime Branch CID of Tamil Nadu Police.

The operation, which lasted for about 12 hours in this sleepy town, involved heavily-armed personnel from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and OCTOPUS (Organisation To Counter Terrorist Operations).

"Panna Ismail and Bilal Malik were arrested. Malik's wife and three children (who were with the accused during the operations) safely came out (later on)," DGP K Ramanujam told PTI.

Apart from the 2011-Advani bomb case, the arrested were also believed to be involved in the recent murders of BJP and Sangh parivar unit leaders in Tamil Nadu.
The arrest of the three key suspects comes days ahead of BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's proposed visit to Chennai on October 18.

The fourth suspect Abu Backer Siddique is still at large.