After decades, TN ATS arrests 2 militants linked to 1995 blasts
CHENNAI: After a 30-year manhunt, the anti-terror squad (ATS) of the Tamil Nadu police on Tuesday arrested two militants involved in multiple terror attacks carried out across TN and neighbouring states.
Abubacker Siddique, 60, who carries a prize of Rs 5lakh on his head, was apprehended from a hideout in AP’s Annamayya district along with Mohammed Ali after police got a tip-off. Both men were wanted in connection with a series of bomb blasts, murders and terror-related cases. Siddique is a native of Nagoor and Mohammed Ali alias Yunus/Mansoor is a resident of Melapalayam, Tirunelveli.
Siddique was wanted for the 1995 bomb blast at the Hindu Munnani office in Chintadripet, and a parcel bomb explosion in Nagoor in 1995, which resulted in one fatality. Police said he coordinated blasts at seven locations across Chennai, Trichy, Coimbatore and Kerala in 1999, including the Chennai police commissioner’s office in Egmore. Additionally, he was involved in the murder of Dr Arvind Reddy in Vellore in 2012, and a bomb blast near the BJP office in Malleswaram, Bengaluru, in 2013.
Mohammed Ali, who was absconding for 26 years, is wanted in connection with the 1999 coordinated bomb-planting incidents at multiple locations in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
The arrest of the duo, sources said, would lead to the closure of several cases involving terrorism and communal violence that remained unresolved for decades. Further investigations are under way.
Abubacker Siddique, 60, who carries a prize of Rs 5lakh on his head, was apprehended from a hideout in AP’s Annamayya district along with Mohammed Ali after police got a tip-off. Both men were wanted in connection with a series of bomb blasts, murders and terror-related cases. Siddique is a native of Nagoor and Mohammed Ali alias Yunus/Mansoor is a resident of Melapalayam, Tirunelveli.
Siddique was wanted for the 1995 bomb blast at the Hindu Munnani office in Chintadripet, and a parcel bomb explosion in Nagoor in 1995, which resulted in one fatality. Police said he coordinated blasts at seven locations across Chennai, Trichy, Coimbatore and Kerala in 1999, including the Chennai police commissioner’s office in Egmore. Additionally, he was involved in the murder of Dr Arvind Reddy in Vellore in 2012, and a bomb blast near the BJP office in Malleswaram, Bengaluru, in 2013.
Mohammed Ali, who was absconding for 26 years, is wanted in connection with the 1999 coordinated bomb-planting incidents at multiple locations in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
The arrest of the duo, sources said, would lead to the closure of several cases involving terrorism and communal violence that remained unresolved for decades. Further investigations are under way.
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