Arrests go up to 18,two may have got terror training in Pak

Arrested from Bangalore and Hubli on August 29 respectively,Hakeem and Iqbal were among the first batch of those held in the ongoing investigations.

As the number of arrests in the recently busted terror network in Karnataka,Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra rose to 18 on Monday,investigators said at least two of them had travelled to Pakistan for terror training in December 2011.

Officials are gathering evidence to establish that Abdul Hakeem Jamadar,25,and Dr Zafar Iqbal Sholapur,27,went to Pakistan through a circuitous Middle East route,including Iran,not reflected on their passports. The fact that they were able to connect to the terror set-up in Pakistan through conduits in Saudi Arabia is being viewed seriously.

Investigators believe the group was also in the process of sending more people to Pakistan. Saudi Arabia-based Abdul Majid,a brother of Shahid Bilal and Abdul Samad both reported killed in Pakistan in 2007 is believed to have been the key link in connecting the terror suspects to the Lashkar-e-Toiba network in Pakistan for training.

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Arrested from Bangalore and Hubli on August 29 respectively,Hakeem and Iqbal were among the first batch of those held in the ongoing investigations.

On Monday,the Bangalore police announced the arrest of Dr Nayeem Siddique,26,hailing from Davangere in Karnataka. Siddique is accused of working as a recruiter.

On Sunday,a Nanded resident believed to be the link between the Maharashtra and Karnataka groups,Mohammed Akram,was arrested.

Investigators believe previous routes to reach Pakistan through Saudi Arabia may have been used. As many as 50 persons,mostly from Andhra,are believed to have been sent to Pakistan for training through the Shahid Bilal network between 2003 and 2005.

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Raziuddin Nasir,arrested in 2008,who allegedly received LeT training facilitated by Bilal and Samad,was earlier reported to have admitted to being sent to Karachi from Saudi Arabia. The ticket was to Mumbai but I got off at Karachi, he reportedly told the police.