IISc attack: Three detained in Chennai

A special police team from Bangalore and the Chennai Police detained a Mangalore-based suspect Alim Basheer Mysori in Chennai today in conne...

A special police team from Bangalore and the Chennai Police detained a Mangalore-based suspect Alim Basheer Mysori in Chennai today in connection with Indian Institute of Science IISc, Bangalore, attack. Two other suspects from Mulbagal and Chintamani, respectively, in Kolar, were also picked up.

The Bangalore Police were hot on Mysori8217;s trail as call records on the mobile phone of the recently arrested Abdul Rahman8212;said to be the Lashkar-e-Toiba8217;s chief of operations in South India8212;indicated connection between them. Details of Mysori8217;s interrogation are under wraps with the police refusing to confirm whether he had a hand in the IISc attack.

Back in Bangalore, intensive interrogation has failed to break down Rahman, who was arrested in Nalgonda, Andhra Pradesh, on December 31 2005. A Central intelligence team is also in the city to interrogate Rahman. Police sources confirmed that Rahman did not carry out the attack at the IISc on December 28 2005. Apparently, one of the injured persons said that he was not the assailant.

Police are also interrogating three suspects apprehended in Kolar district over the last three days. One of them, Shabir Ahmed alias Mustafa, picked up from Malur on Monday, had a licence for selling explosives meant for blasting quarries, police said.

On Tuesday, the Bangalore police and the Chennai police swooped down on eight persons in Chennai, including Mysori. After a grilling session, which began on Tuesday night and continued till Wednesday evening, seven of the suspects8212;from Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu8212;were let off.

Police said that Rahman also went by name of Azdani. Sources said that he had eight passports and had travelled from Saudi Arabia to Bangladesh. He had migrated to Saudi Arabia around 13 years ago and had returned to Nalgonda for Ramzan.

He travelled between Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai to recruit youths to the outfit, according to the intelligence.