NIA links ‘Thirthahalli module’ to IED blasts in parts of Karnataka
- In Reports
- 10:55 AM, Mar 30, 2024
- Myind Staff
A faction formerly linked with graffiti near a police station in Mangaluru has transformed into the most sought-after terror cell in Karnataka. Recognized in police circles as the "Thirthahalli module," this group is alleged to be behind a string of Improved Explosive Device (IED) detonations in both Mangaluru and Bengaluru. According to a charge sheet filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), they aim to establish an Islamic State Caliphate within Karnataka's forests.
Mussavir Shazeeb Hussain, identified as the bomber in Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Café explosion, and Mateen Ahmed Taha, purportedly the main plotter, have surfaced as pivotal figures within this module. Interestingly, both were previously associated with another extremist group before the inception of the Thirthahalli (literally, village of holy water) module.
Their appearance on the radar of investigative agencies traces back to January 2020 when state police dismantled the Al Hind terror module, which drew inspiration from the Islamic State (IS), operating in Bengaluru’s Suddaguntepalya area.
Led by Mehboob Pasha, associated with the Al Hind Trust, along with Shihabudeen and Khaja Moideenfrom Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, the module aimed to establish an IS province through insurgent activities across Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
“They formed the Al-Hind module and selected Bengaluru as their base and conducted several criminal conspiracy meetings in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu since April 2019,” NIA said in its charge sheet filed in the Al-Hind module case in September 2021.
“They had propagated the ideology of the proscribed terrorist organization, ISIS and conspired to collect arms and explosives for murdering police officers and Hindu leaders. The investigation has revealed that charge-sheeted accused Shihabudeen was part of the larger conspiracy and as per the directions of Khaja Moideen had collected and handed over arms and ammunitions in Mumbai to other accused persons. These arms were further used in the murder of Special Sub-Inspector Wilson of Tamil Nadu Police (January 2020),” it added.
Its reference is to the 2020 killing of A Wilson, a special sub-inspector who was fatally shot while on duty at a checkpoint along the Kaliyakkavilai Market Road in Kanyakumari, near the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border.
According to a senior official from the Internal Security Division, who initially probed the case, when Bengaluru police targeted this module during the investigation into the killing of police officer Wilson, two names surfaced—Mateen Ahmed Tahaand his distant relative Mussavir Shazeeb Hussain, who had joined the module. However, they were on the run.
While on the run, the two men ended up in their hometown of Thirthahalli, where the second chapter of the module began. During their time there they began radicalising several youths from their home town to carry out terror attacks, said the officer.
The activities of this alleged module first came to the attention of state police in November 2020 when three individuals—Maaz Muneer and Mohammed Shariq from Thirthahalli, and Syed Yasin from Mangaluru—were apprehended for painting pro-terror graffiti on the walls of a building within the East police station limits and on a wall within the North police station limits.
The NIA stated that Taha and Hussain indoctrinated these youths and instructed them to paint graffiti in support of terrorism and terror organisations at two locations in Mangaluru. Even in this instance, Tahaand Hussain managed to evade arrest.
It was two years later, in September 2023 the names of those involved in the graffiti case propped up again. On September 23, 2022, Shivamogga police announced that two associates of an individual detained in connection with a stabbing incident during a confrontation over Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar’s poster in Shivamogga on August 15 were associated with the Islamic State.
One of the four men apprehended in the stabbing incident informed the police that Maaz Muneer, previously arrested in the graffiti case, was his associate. Upon questioning Muneer, he admitted to the police that he, along with other members of his group, had carried out trial bomb blasts along the banks of the Tungabhadra River.
An officer who investigated the case said that during raids carried out in 11 locations as part of the investigation police seized 14 mobiles, two laptops, remnants of the experimental bomb found at the site of the blast, materials required to make bombs and a half-burnt Indian national flag.
Explaining the findings of the investigation, the officer said that in the days following Independence Day, the national flag of India was burnt near the spot where the bomb was set off and it was videographed on the mobile phones of Muneer and others.
“The accused profess the ideology of Islamic State. They were of the view that India got independence merely from the British. But the real independence would be achieved only after establishing a caliphate in the forests of Karnataka and enforcing Sharia law.” the officer said.
Further investigation uncovered that Hussain and Taha orchestrated and provided assistance for the trial blast. Consequently, Maaz Muneer and Syed Yasin were arrested in connection with this incident, while another associate, Mohammed Shariq, managed to evade capture.
Shariq, who was out on bail in the graffiti case and subsequently went into hiding in the trial blast case, reappeared in Mangaluru on November 19, 2022, carrying an IED concealed inside a pressure cooker. Although the intended target was a prominent temple in the city, the IED accidentally detonated inside an autorickshaw, causing injuries to the driver and Shariq.
Shariq’s interrogation revealed that Hussain and Tahawere the planners. They have been on the run until their involvement in the Rameswaram Cafe blast in the city on March 1, 2024.
On Thursday, the NIA announced that Mukammil shareef, a key conspirator who provided logistical aid to Mussavir Shahzeeb Hussain and Abdul MateenTaha, was apprehended on Wednesday following numerous raids conducted by several teams of the federal agency across 18 locations in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh. Like the other two, Shareef hails from Shivamogga district in Karnataka.
Image source: PTI
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