The Bengaluru Police has foiled an alleged ISIS-back plot to target vital installations in the state and arrested five suspects in the case. Four walkie-talkies, seven country-made pistols, 42 live bullets, two daggers, two satellite phones and four grenades have been recovered from them.
"They have been identified as Syed Suhel, Umar, Janid, Mudasir and Zahid. It is suspected that the team had planned to carry out a blast in Bengaluru. All five were accused in a 2017 murder case and were in Parappana Agrahara Central Jail where they came in contact with the terrorists. CCB has also seized explosive materials," the crime branch said in a statement as reported by news agency ANI.
In past, all of them were lodged in Parappana Agrahara Central Prison of Bangalore and where they met a few terrorists and then decided to carry out terror activities.
Former Bengaluru chief minister Bommai reacted to the matter and demanded the NIA probe into it, adding that there was a big conspiracy to carry out serious explosions in Bengaluru and that many international terror outfits were behind this plot.
"The Central Crime Branch has succeeded in busting the anti-social forces and foiled their nefarious designs. They were arrested after raiding a place under Hebbal police station limits," Dayananda told reporters.
The suspects were radicalised by T Nazeer, who is an accused in the 2008 Bengaluru serial bomb blasts case, and another accused living abroad, PTI reported.
The suspects are accused of murder, robbery, smuggling of red sanders and other crimes. They were in touch with the other terror accused who was in jail.
Nazeer has links with Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, the police commissioner said.
He added that Nazeer's gang members were planning on carrying out "destructive activities".
The five suspects were among 21 persons arrested in connection with a murder case in the past, the police sources said.