Two alleged terrorists from Tamil Nadu nabbed in Andhra Pradesh’s Rayachoti recently after 30 years lived under “fake identities,” and nearly 20 kg of explosives were seized from them, police said on Thursday.
Abubacker Siddique, allegedly involved in the 2011 pipe-bomb planting attempt during BJP veteran and former Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani’s rath yatra in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai and his accomplice Mohammed Ali were arrested earlier from here.
Siddique was involved in several bomb blasts in south India and was arrested by the Tamil Nadu’s Anti Terrorism Squad from his hideout in Annamayya district, TN police had earlier said.
On Thursday, Kurnool Range DIG Koya Praveen and Annamayya district SP V Vidyasagar Naidu said the arrests were made on Monday after Tamil Nadu police sought assistance from their Andhra Pradesh counterparts to track down Siddique and Ali.
“These two were involved in major terrorist activities that posed a serious threat to national security,” Praveen told reporters.
Following their arrest, search operations were conducted at their residences on Kottapalli and Mehboob Basha streets in Rayachoti town.
Both men had settled in the Rayalaseema town as small-time traders. Abubakar married five years ago, while Ali married locally a decade ago. During the searches, their wives, Saira Banu and Shaikh Shameem, allegedly obstructed the police and attacked female officers. Both women were arrested and sent to Kadapa jail.
Other confiscated items include daggers, sickles, digital timers, clock switches, pull/pressure switches, gas tube arresters, speed controllers, ball bearings, nuts and bolts, binoculars, walkie-talkies, mobile phones, and hacking software.
Police also seized maps of major Indian cities, coding manuals, ISIS-inspired literature, property documents, digital storage devices, cheque books, and financial records linked to suspicious transactions.
According to police, the seized materials were sufficient to manufacture 50-60 IEDs or 8-10 high-impact suitcase bombs with a lethal radius of 30 metres, similar to the Rameshwaram Cafe blast in Bengaluru last year.
Octopus bomb disposal experts are assisting in the investigation.
Police said the duo procured materials locally to avoid digital trails and used watch dials and plastic boxes to assemble the devices.
Two cases have been registered at Rayachoti Urban Police Station under the Explosives Act, Arms Act, UAPA, and Section 132 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Naidu said the suspects are currently lodged in a Tamil Nadu jail. Andhra Pradesh police will seek custodial interrogation to uncover wider terror networks, funding sources, and additional plots.
The duo was allegedly involved in the 1995 Egmore and Coimbatore blasts, the 1999 Kasaragod train blast, and the 2013 Malleswaram bomb case. Khan is also believed to have travelled to Gulf countries.