‘Kerala robbery booty used for terror’

According to the police,the two persons arrested in connection with the robbery,K P Shabeer and Ismail alias Bomb Ismail,were Nazir’s associates. Shabeer was nabbed from Shimoga in Karnataka and Ismail from Kochi.

Sources in the Crime Branch said the two have confessed that the money was used to finance anti-national activities in Kerala under the leadership of Nazir,who was also involved in the crime reported on June 26,2002.

According to the police,Kochi-based gold merchant Mathew John and his sons were returning home when a nine-member gang,led by Nazir,hacked John and decamped with a brief case containing 2.25 kg gold.

Subscriber Only Stories

View All

UPSC Key- January 30, 2023: Know about Project 39A, Beating Retreat Cerem...

UPSC Essentials | Key terms of the past week with MCQs

ExplainSpeaking: How to evaluate a Union Budget

Mahesh Vyas writes: Why the job shortage is for real

Apply New Year promo code SD25

The police said Shabeer is the brother of suspected LeT militant K P Sabir,who left the country after the recruitment of Kerala youths for terrorism was exposed in 2009. Sabir was part of a chain that took Kerala men to LeT camp. He was also involved in the robbery. Another suspect in the case was Al-Uma leader Imam Ali,who was killed in an encounter with police in Bangalore.

Sources said the Crime Branch would look into similar unsolved robbery cases to see whether this group was behind those incidents too.

Nazir,who is serving life term in connection with the twin blasts of Kozhikode,would be questioned to unravel the links.