Terror sleeper cells active in Bengaluru, Mysuru, says Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai
Bengaluru, Oct 18: Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Friday some terrorist sleeper cells were active in Bengaluru and Mysuru and their activities have intensified in coastal Karnataka as well as the Bay of Bengal.
Speaking to reporters at Mysuru, Bommai said the National Investigation Agency suspects movement of terrorists belonging to the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) in coastal Karnataka and a few interior parts of Karnataka.
"There is a possibility of sleeper cells in Bengaluru and Mysuru and hence, the NIA wants us to take extra care," Bommai said.
He cautioned that the JMB has expanded its activities not only in coastal and interior Karnataka but all along the coastal regions of the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea.
Referring to revelations made by the NIA recently in New Delhi, Bommai said the agency laid emphasis on Kashmir and the movement of Bangladeshi ultras.
The minister also said movement of illegal Bangladeshiimmigrants has intensified in the State.
"Against the background, our police are on alert especially in Bengaluru and Mysuru. We are frisking people at public places, gathering information about the suspicious persons and analysing it," Bommai said.
Earlier this week, the minister announced the formation of Bengaluru-specific Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), which will work in tandem with the NIA officials.
The Bengaluru-specific ATS will become functional from November 1, he said.
Karnataka already has an ATS.
The decision to set up the ATS was made following the arrest of a number of JMB cadres in and around Bengaluru, from whom explosive devices and many other materials were seized in the last one year.
According to the NIA, these terrorists, involved in the October 2, 2014 bomb blasts at Burdwan in West Bengal, in which two persons were killed, had holed up in and around Bengaluru.
They had carried out training programmes in Krishnagirihills in neighbouring Tamil Nadu and wanted to set up base here to carry out their jihadi activities across the country, an NIA probe, which busted the gang, revealed.
Addressing a meeting of chiefs of the Anti Terrorism Squads (ATS) recently at New Delhi, NIA chief Y C Modi had said the JMB has spread its activities in states like Jharkhand, Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala in theguise of Bangladeshi immigrants.
The JMB was trying to spread its tentacles across India and a list of 125 suspects have been shared with different states, he said.
According to him, from 2014 to 2018, the JMB set up 20-22 hideouts in Bengaluru and tried to spread its bases in South India.
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UP: Fake IAS officer marries woman, flees with Rs 15 lakh dowry
Gorakhpur (UP) (PTI): A newly married man fled with the Rs 15 lakh given to him as dowry by the bride's family, and it came to light later that he was an alleged serial scammer, police said on Sunday.
The accused, identified as Pritam Kumar Nishad from Etawah, allegedly posed as an IAS officer to deceive the woman into marrying him. He is currently absconding with his sister, and a case has been filed against him for cheating, dowry harassment, and forgery, officials said.
According to the police, the woman's family claimed that they spent nearly Rs 30 lakh for the wedding that was solemnised on March 11.
The match was arranged through a matrimonial group, where the accused introduced himself as an IAS officer, sharing purported interview clips, office visuals, and photographs with politicians to gain the family's trust.
Despite initially claiming he would marry without dowry, the accused allegedly demanded Rs 15 lakh shortly before the engagement. The bride's family paid Rs 10 lakh in cash during the engagement and the remaining Rs 5 lakh on the wedding day, the police said.
The fraud came to light on Saturday after the woman reached Etawah, and a wedding attendee informed the family that the accused was not a civil servant. When her relatives visited the address provided by him, they found her in a small rented room, while the accused and his sister had fled, the police added.
The woman has also alleged that the accused planned to take her to Goa and sell her, and accused him of inappropriate behaviour.
The police suspect that the accused may have been involved in multiple such marriages in the past. Based on a complaint lodged at the cantonment police station, an FIR was registered on Saturday evening.
Senior Superintendent of Police Dr Kaustubh said efforts are underway to arrest the accused.
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