LeT men taken to Bangalore to probe 2005 blast

LeT men taken to Bangalore to probe 2005 blastShillong, Dec 4 : The two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists who were handed over to India by Bangladesh Wednesday were taken to Bangalore Friday as they had allegedly masterminded a blast in the Karnataka capital in 2005, officials here said.

After being handed over by Bangladesh, T. Nazeer alias Nazeer Parvan and his relative Safiquq alias Shafaz Samsuddin were arrested by Border Security Force (BSF) troopers from Umkrem near Dawki along the India-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya Wednesday morning.

"Nazeer, 25, has admitted to police interrogators in Shillong about their involvement in the serial blasts that rocked Bangalore Dec 28, 2005," a senior Meghalaya police official told reporters.

They were Thursday sent to a day's police custody by a local court in Shillong.

Nazeer is alleged to be involved in the terror attack at the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in which Indian Institute of Technology Delhi professor M. C. Puri was killed.

The official said that a team of Bangalore Police arrived in Shillong Thursday to take the duo to the Karnataka capital.

"Nazeer, believed to be the LeT's south India chief, has made some startling revelations about the LeT activities in India and their linkages with other outfits," the official said, refusing to divulge details of the interrogation.

"The LeT cadres had been in Bangladesh for nearly a year and intended to shift their base to Dubai following the crackdown by Bangladeshi security forces," he added.

Meanwhile, Kerala police has also requested its Meghalaya counterparts to hand over Nazeer as he is wanted in connection with various terror related cases in the state.

Inspector General of Police (Kerala) Tomin J. Thachenkeri, who is in charge of the Northern Range in the state, told reporters in Kannur (Kerala): "A team of police officials will leave for Bangalore soon. We are planning to have a joint interrogation with the Bangalore police of the accused."

According to the police official, there are four cases against Nazeer in Kerala, including an attempt to murder former chief minister E. K. Nayanar, another murder case and two charges of arson.

According to the Kerala police, Nazeer was in Kerala just ahead of the Bangalore blast. (IANS)