‘Bhatkal town sits on an RDX dump’-ToI-23.3.12

Suspects Fail To Identify ‘Bomb Godown’ In Town

Bangalore: Is the coastal town of Bhatkal, in Uttara Kannada district, sitting on a tinder boz? Police sources say, “a dump of explosive material including RDX huge enough to singe major south Indian cities” is piled up in an unidentified house in the town. 
    On Thursday, a joint team comprising personnel from the Anti-Terrorist Squad, Bangalore, and Delhi special police scoured Bhatkal town to identify the house, with help from four terror suspects. Till evening, police had been unable to find it. 
    The four terror suspects include Tadiyandavide Nasir, prime accused in the July 25, 2008, Bangalore serial blasts, and three unidentified accused in Delhi police custody. 
    The explosives from the Bhatkal dump are believed to have been used in the Chinnaswamy Stadium blasts in 2010, and Delhi high court last year, besides several other terror strikes across the country. 
    Nasir is believed to have spilled the beans on the dump still lying in the Bhatkal house to the city police. But he failed to lead the cops to the house on Thursday, claiming he could not recollect where it was and how it looked, as it was dark when he visited it. 
    “Either Nasir is playing foul or is really confused. He claims he visited the house with a few others in the wee hours and took away a consignment of explosives,” a source said. The Delhi terror suspects, too, have not been of much help in tracing the house. 
    “What we fear is that the huge quantity of explosives has been hidden in Bhatkal by absconding terror masterminds Yasin Bhatkal and his brother Riyaz Bhatkal. It seems the duo had not only used locals in terror activities, but also used Bhatkal to store the explosives for subversive activities in various parts of the country,” a source said.Meanwhile, Pune police are cross-checking with the materials used to blast the German bakery. Similarly, Delhi police suspect the explosives were used in the Delhi high court blast. 
    TERROR TRAIL 

• Who is Nasir? 
Tadiyandavide Nasir, a native of Kannur district in Kerala, is said to have been a prominent headhunter for the Indian Mujahideen. He is suspected to be involved in two terror attacks in Kerala, besides the 2008 serial blasts and Chinnaswamy Stadium blasts in Bangalore. 

• Who are the suspects from Delhi? 
The identity of the Delhi-based terrorists is yet to be made public. The three terrorists were picked up by police in the last week of February and brought to the city recently. 

• How did the explosives land here? 
Investigating officials are looking into the possibility of the explosives reaching Bhatkal through the sea route. “The explosives seem to have been brought here many years ago. It is not easy to transport such a huge quantity of explosives by road or rail. It is clear that Bhatkal has turned into an explosives godown for terror activities,” sources in the state ATS said.