Bid on CM — Police divided over news leak

KANNUR, AUG 15: The police top brass is divided over the news flashed yesterday about the arrest of three youths of a fundamentalist outf...

KANNUR, AUG 15: The police top brass is divided over the news flashed yesterday about the arrest of three youths of a fundamentalist outfit reported to have trained a suicide bomb squad to annihilate political leaders including Chief Minister E K Nayanar.

“They have bungled the entire thing by taking it to the media when the interrogation was only half way through”, said a top police officer. He, however, confirmed that the arrested belonged to Majilis’ a dreaded fundamentalist outfit floated by People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief Abdul Nazar Mahdani, who is currently in the Salem Central Prison for his alleged role in the serial bomb blasts at Coimbatore that took place last year.He said that a section of the police feel that the media coverage would adversely affect the ongoing probe into the case.

It was a serious lapse on the part of the police especially when they were dealing with a serious case like this, he said.

The plot to kill top politicians was bared after N A Ismail, 22, of Aluva wasnabbed by Town Circle Inspector P P Unnikrishnan on August 11. Sabir, 20, of Marakkarkandy and Mazood, 20, of Kannur Athayakunnu were arrested on the same day following the confessions of Ismail.

Police say, the arrest of the trio who were taken into custody three days ago was kept a secret. But, unfortunately for them, the news was leaked out by informers in the police to family members of the arrested as well as to the media. Sabir’s parents soon gave a missing advertisement in a leading Malayalam newspaper as part of their efforts to file a habeas corpus suit in the court, sources said.

Meanwhile, DIG (North Zone) Sekharan Miniyoden told Indian Express that the police have spread the net to nab other members of the suicide squad including Mahdani’s former bodyguard Amir Ali, who is reported to have trained the youths to become human bombs.

He also said the enquiry into the alleged plot to do away with Chief Minister Nayanar was on and any comment on the on-going probe would adversely affectit.

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Police said raids were carried out at the houses of all the ten Majilis activists accused in the murder of Azad, a taxi driver who was killed last year. The house at Pannenpara where Amir Ali allegedly trained the suicide squad was also raided and the police is reported to have seized several telephone numbers and documents.