5 Suspected terrorists detained for plotting attack in Bengaluru: police

Bengaluru: The Central Crime Branch (CCB) on Wednesday arrested five persons for allegedly planning a terror attack in the city, NDTV reported.

Police are looking for the mastermind, identified as Junaid who is believed to be settled abroad, for involvement in supplying arms and explosives to the five arrested.

Those in custody are Suhail, Omar, Zahid, Mudasir and Faisal, all aged between 25 and 35, hailing from Bengaluru.

Previously arrested in 2017, they were in jail for 18 months over a murder case before being released in 2019.

The CCB also seized explosive materials, guns and daggers from their possession.

They revealed to police of having been in touch with T Nazeer, a terror accused currently doing time in Bengaluru Central Jail (Parapanna Agrahara).

Bengaluru Police Commissioner Dayanand B reportedly said that Nazeer had radicalized the five suspects.

The officer added that the suspect who is staying abroad supplied the group with weapons for terror activities.

Bengaluru Police is working with central agencies to track down Junaid, the officer said.

The NDTV report said that radicalisation of prisoners in Karnataka raised concerns of jails becoming breeding ground for terrorists.

The report cited the example of Mohammad Shariq, the key accused in the cooker blast in Mangaluru last year.

Shariq was allegedly radicalized while doing time in Belagavi prison by an accused arrested in connection with the Hyderabad bomb blast.