B’luru guard held for alleged TTP links, Pak Army attack plot

BENGALURU: A 25-year-old security guard in Bengaluru was arrested for allegedly establishing links with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and planning to travel to Afghanistan to plot an attack on the Pakistan Army.

The accused, Asaful Mallick, was remanded in police custody for 10 days. Police said the details of the case would be shared with the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Police said Mallick, a native of North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal, had obtained his passport from Hyderabad despite never having lived there. His parents and three siblings live in West Bengal.

He was living in a rented room in Jigani on the outskirts of Bengaluru. Acting on a tip-off that he was allegedly planning an attack on the Pakistan Army, a police team detained him at Bommasandra Industrial Area on Aug 11 and began questioning him.

During investigation, police found that Mallick had allegedly been in touch on social media with an Afghan national and TTP member, identified as Imran Haider, whom he had met on Facebook.

According to M Narayana, the deputy commissioner of police (Electronics City), Mallick had allegedly sought Haider’s help to attack the Pakistan Army and planned to travel to Afghanistan for the purpose.

He had reportedly obtained a passport and applied for a visa, but financial constraints and family issues prevented him from making the trip.

“We are gathering information about the agents who helped him obtain the passport, how he got in touch with them and how much he paid them,” a police officer said.

Mallick claimed he was upset over the Israel-Palestine conflict, alleged atrocities by the Pakistan Army against people in Pakistan, and what he described as the Army’s support for Israel while failing to help Palestinian Muslims, Narayana said.

Investigators also found messages and audio recordings of calls with Haider on Mallick’s mobile phone that allegedly contained evidence of his plans. Police have seized the phone and sent it for forensic examination.

Mallick, a BA student, had studied in West Bengal before coming to Bengaluru to work as a security guard. After a year, he returned home for six months and then came back to the city to take up the same job.

In Bengaluru, he was staying with another security guard, who, senior police officers said, was unaware of his alleged radicalisation.

A case has been registered at Hebbagodi police station under Section 113(3) (terrorist act) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Source: The Times of India