Mumbai:
A terrorist wanted by the Coimbatore police was apprehended at the international airport in Mumbai in the early hours on Thursday following a lookout notice (LoN) against him. The police are baffled about the possible purpose of his visit to the city a day before the second anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
The arrested person has been identified as Shabbir Kochi PKD, and is alleged to be associated with the terrorist outfit People Democratic Party (PDP). He is a native of Kannur district in Kerala.
According to the police, Shabbir was involved in a 2002 Arms and Explosives Act case in Coimbatore and a lookout notice was issued against him after he had absconded. "A case under various sections of the Indian Explosives Act has been registered at the Race Course police station in Coimbatore against Shabbir," said additional director general of police (ATS), Rakesh Maria.
Police sources claim that Shabbir's elder brother Sabir PKD is also a radical and was involved in the 1998 blast in Bangalore. Sabir is a close confidante of Abdul Nasir Madani, who launched the PDP after the Babri masjid demolition in 1992, and is believed to be hiding in Pakistan, sources said. "We have learnt that even after a lookout notice was issued against Shabbir, he had managed to sneak into the country through Calicut on two occasions in the past," said the source.
Sources also claim that Shabbir had come to Mumbai from Riyadh on an Air India flight. After detaining him, the Sahar police was informed and he was handed over to the Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) officials.
Shabbir, who works in Riyadh, was grilled for a few hours by the officials of the Chandan Chowkie of the ATS in Juhu and was later handed over to the Coimbatore police on Thursday.
Although Shabbir told the police that he was supposed to catch a flight for Kochi, the police are not believing his story in entirety. "He said he was supposed to fly to Kochi, but the version is hard to believe considering the second anniversary of 26/11 Mumbai attacks, and that terrorist outfits try to do something again on such occasions," the officer said.
The police claim that Shabbir is a big catch and his arrest will lead to information about other terror suspects who are at large in the Coimbatore case. "Although he had not directly participated in the blast, he is linked to the PDP. He will be able to provide us with details about his other associates, his brother Sabir, how the group was funded and by whom, and what was he doing abroad all these years," said an intelligence official.
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