Six Islamic Terrorists Arrested Over Pune, Delhi, Bangalore Attacks

Six men arrested by Delhi police over India attacks
1 December 2011

Police in the Indian capital Delhi say they have arrested six people in connection with a series of countrywide attacks last year.

The men belong to the Indian Mujahideen group which has been blamed for dozens of bomb attacks throughout India, the police said.

A Pakistani man, suspected to have links to the outlawed radical group Jaish-e-Muhammad, is also being held.

Police say they are seeking another man in connection with the blasts.

The six men, who were detained in Delhi, Bihar and Chennai, are “all members of the Indian Mujahideen terror modules”, a statement issued by the Delhi police said.

The men were suspected of involvement in the attacks last year on a bakery in the western city of Pune, a stadium in the southern city of Bangalore and a shooting incident near Delhi’s Jama Masjid mosque, the statement said.

Rifles, cartridges, pistols and explosive material had been seized, it added.

The blast at the German bakery in Pune in February 2010 killed 17 people and injured 56. It was the first major bombing in India after the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

At least eight people were injured when a bomb exploded outside a cricket stadium in Bangalore in April last year.

And two foreign tourists were injured after gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on a bus near the Jama Masjid mosque, a popular tourist site, in Delhi last September.

The United States has put the Indian Mujahideen on its list of foreign terrorist organisations, saying that the group was responsible for dozens of bomb attacks throughout India in the last six years.

Kerala Islamic Terrorist Madani, Part Of Bangalore Serial Blasts From Start To Finish

“Madani is that he was part of the conspiracy from start to finish.”

Based on Nasir’s statements, cops to probe Madani LeT links

Wed, Aug 18

With leader of the People’s Democratic Party Abdul Naser Madani arrested by the Bangalore police in connection with the July 25, 2008 serial blasts in Bangalore, the focus of investigation by the police is expected to be on the extent of Madani’s involvement in the blasts as well as his possible links to terror outfits.

The former Islamic Sevak Sangh leader has been arrested largely on the basis of statements made against him by his associate Tadiayandavede Nasir, the main accused in the blasts case, who has told the police that Madani was in the loop on the Lashkar-e-Toiba-sponsored bomb plot that killed one person and injured 20.

At three different points in his confession statement to the Bangalore police Nasir has alluded to Madani’s role in the blasts and the Bangalore police has corroborated this with witness accounts.

According to Nasir’s statement, he met Madani around June 2008 when men and materials were being prepared for the bomb plot in Bangalore.

“In this context I met my leader Abdul Naser Madani at his home in Ernakulam and told him about the plans to carry out bomb blasts in Bangalore and took suggestions from him,” says Nasir’s statement recorded in December 2009 after he was nabbed in Bangladesh and brought to Bangalore.

This statement was the first time Madani, who was acquitted in the 1998 Coimbatore blasts case that killed 58 people, was implicated in the Bangalore blasts case and investigators had until this point believed that the plot was largely executed by former associates of a formerly radical leader.

“When we informed Madani about the blasts, he said that he would support us in any way we wanted in carrying out jihadi activities,” says Nasir’s statement.

At another point in his statement Nasir says: “After the explosion of the bombs in Bangalore we spoke to Sarfaraz Nawaz (a Gulf-based former SIMI activist who liasoned with the LeT) then we spoke to Madani on a mobile phone and as per his advice we met him a month later at his office in Anwarserry.”

The case being made out by the Bangalore police against Madani is that he was part of the conspiracy from start to finish. The police have placed statements made by other witnesses supporting the statements made by Nasir.

With the arrest of Madani, a total of 22 people from Kerala have been nabbed in connection with the Bangalore blasts case. Four others named in the case were killed by the security forces in Kashmir in October 2008 when they attempted to slip into PoK, allegedly for terrorism training in a plan allegedly hatched by Nasir.

Among the Indian accused in the case who are still at large are Indian Mujahideen co-founder Riyaz Bhatkal and his associate Ibrahim Moulvi. A red corner notice has been issued for Wali alias Rehan, a Pakistani national and alleged leader of the LeT for the Gulf who facilitated the Bangalore attacks. A total of 31 people are accused in the case.

Islamic terrorists carried out IPL blasts at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru

The Indian Mujahideen operative who planned IPL blasts
August 19, 2010

The blasts at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, which created panic among the spectators who had gathered there to watch a game of the Indian Premier League on April 17 this year, were planned and carried out by the Indian Mujahideen, according to the city police.

According to the Bengaluru police, Indian Mujahideen operative Salman alias Chotu was the mastermind behind the blasts. Incidentally, Salman was arrested by the police a month before the blasts.

Bengaluru police officials told rediff.com that investigations into the case point to Salman’s involvement.

Salman, a wanted accused in many cases, is one of the main operatives of the terror outfit, say sources in the Intelligence Bureau.

According to IB sources, Salman was trained in Pakistan and he played a role in the serial blasts in Jaipur on May 13, 2008. He planted the bomb at the Manak Chowk area, say sources. The blasts had claimed 60 lives in Pink City.

Salman was later roped in for bigger terror operations and he played a role in the Delhi serial blasts as well. He was arrested by the Delhi police in March this year.

He will be initially interrogated by the Rajasthan police before the Bengaluru police can get access to him.

Vicky Nanjappa

Drunk Iranian girls assault, bite police in Bangalore

 

Drunken Iranian girls bite and beat up policemen
Aravind Gowda 
Bangalore, February 19, 2010 

The prospect of 60 lashings appears to have had a sobering effect on two sloshed Iranian women students who allegedly assaulted policemen conducting routine checks on Wednesday night.

This is the stiff punishment for drinking that awaits them back home if they are deported. Consequently, they were believed to be pleading for mercy a day after their drunken display of rage.

The two foreign nationals were produced before a local court on Thursday evening. The government may deport the women to Iran if they are found guilty of any of the multiple cases registered against them by the Bangalore police.

The Iranians in the dock – Azhar Fazile and Fathima Muhmad – are both in their late 20s and study in separate private colleges in the city. On Wednesday, the women were travelling in a car when they were flagged down by the Commercial Street police near M. G. Road around 1 a.m.

Both girls were drinking beer and wine in the car, the police said. They were also found to be in possession of several liquor bottles. This was not all. Neither of them had a valid driving licence. The car’s registration papers were also not available.

According to the police, Fathima — who was at the wheel — was subjected to an alcometer test. Her alcohol consumption level was detected to be 59 per cent above permissible limits, the police said, adding that they then tried to take possession of the women’s car.

“That’s when Fathima and Azhar started throwing a violent tantrum. They hurled abuses and dared the policemen to arrest them. One of them even bit sub-inspector Rao Ganesh Janardhan when he tried to get them out of the car,” Commercial Street assistant commissioner of police Ashok Kumar said.

“When I managed to pull Fathima out of the car, she started hitting me again with a tool. Then she fled,” Janardhan, who sustained a minor fracture on the forearm, said.

But Fathima returned soon and smashed her own car’s windscreen with a stone, said the police. The two were somehow overpowered with the help of bystanders and taken to the police station.

When the crew of a Kannada TV channel turned up at the police station, Fathima rushed towards the cameraman and smashed his equipment, a police officer said. She had to be pinned to the ground for a few minutes.

After some time both girls came to their senses, he added.

The police have arrested the women and registered multiple cases against them. “We have impounded their passports. Both are in India on student visas. Such behaviour can be ruinous for their academic career,” deputy commissioner of police Chandrashekhar said.

The police have informed the Iranian Consulate in Hyderabad about the incident. “Both girls have realised their mistake. They are pleading for mercy,” said Kumar.

The city police have issued a stern warning to all foreign students in the city. Bangalore is a popular destination for students from Iran, Lebanon, Bahrain and several east African countries.

Kerala Muslim arrested for role in July 2008 Bangalore serial blasts

Terrorists held in Kerala

Statesman News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 22 JULY: Kerala police has apprehended two terrorists who recruited youths and trained them in bomb-making to carry out terror missions across India. Md Abdul Halim (33), a native of Kannur, was caught two days ago and confessed to his role in the 2006 twin bomb blasts at Kozhikode bus stand. Kochi police commissioner Mr Manoj Abraham said that Md Halim admitted that the blasts were an aftermath of the Marad violence and was meant serve as a warning to the government. The police could have made headway in the case as Md Halim was caught earlier but managed to escape serious scrutiny as he was only booked for vehicle theft in mid-2008.

Md Halim is said to be involved in more than 13 pipe-bomb cases in Kerala since the late 90s, two murders an attempt on the life of late chief minister Mr EK Nayanar, and the burning of a Tamil Nadu state-owned bus at Kalamassery. His connection to the Kochi Collectorate blast is yet to be ascertained.

Suspect in Bangalore blasts held in Kerala

Ananthakrishnan G, TNN 23 July 2009

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Raised in Kerala, trained in Hyderabad and linked to jihadi terror networks across India. That is Mohammed Abdul Haleem, a suspected terrorist arrested by Kerala police on Wednesday for his alleged role in the July 2008 Bangalore serial blasts and a series of low-intensity blasts in the state in the last decade.

Haleem, 33, was picked up from Kannur and brought to Kochi where he was placed under arrest. Police say he was associated with the ultra-Islamic Noorish Tariquat based in Hyderabad and received terror training there.

What led the cops to him was the investigation into the three-year-old twin explosions at the transport bus stand in Kozhikode. Announcing his arrest, Kochi police commissioner Manoj Abraham said the vehicle, used to plant bombs in Bangalore, was the one stolen by Haleem from Aluva in Ernakulam. Though he was picked up earlier also in connection with the theft, Haleem duped the police then by stating that it was done to raise money for his wife’s medical treatment.

A former activist of the People’s Democratic Party founded by Abdul Nasser Madani, Haleem was an aide of Tadiyantavide Nasir, a key LeT operative wanted for the Bangalore blasts. Police also established his links with Abdul Sattar, another accused in the Bangalore blasts.

Indian Muslim Raziuddin Naser’s 18-month, multi-location terrorist training programme in Pakistan

Our Internal Insecurity
Ashok Malik, Hindustan Times
February 19, 2009

On the morning of January 11, 2008, at Honnali on the Hosur-Hubli road in Karnataka, a policeman stopped two young men riding a motorcycle. One of them was not wearing a helmet. The usual questions followed, papers were demanded and it was found that the motorcyclists were carrying several number-plates, ostensibly assigned in several states.

The two men were arrested. One of them, Raziuddin Naser, originally from Hyderabad, turned out to be a key operative of the Students’ Islamic Movement of India (Simi) — later to metamorphose into the Indian Mujahideen (IM) — somebody the Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat Police had been seeking.

Naser and his accomplice were on their way to Goa, as he told interrogators, to “conduct serial blasts… to kill Israeli and American tourists“. If that mission had gone well, he was due to travel to Bangalore to attempt to bomb installations of IT companies. Naser’s statement before the Karnataka police makes for fascinating reading. In the context of the rather pointless debate about whether the ten Pakistani terrorists who attacked Mumbai on November 26, 2008, had “local support” or did not, it is worth revisiting what Naser told his questioners about the methods and motivational protocols of domestic jihadists.

Of course, no single interrogation or piece of evidence can reveal the entire truth. Yet, from what intelligence and anti-terrorist agencies have gathered over the past year — the Anti-Terrorist Squads (ATS) in Lucknow, Mumbai and Gandhinagar, in particular, are sitting on a mine of information, as are police officers in locations as far apart as Bhopal and Hyderabad — the different, disparate pieces of the jigsaw begin to fit. It becomes obvious that the interoperability of and relationship between groups such as the IM and external agents recruited in, say, Pakistani Punjab and trained in Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT) camps, are neither absolute nor completely absent.

Naser is the son of a religio-political preacher called Mohammed Naseeruddin. Secretary of the Hyderabad-based Tehreek Tahfuzz Shaeer-e-Islam, the father was once arrested by the local police for terror-related activities. In October 2004, he was arrested by the Gujarat Police in the Old City of Hyderabad, in an operation that was hindered by massive crowds and led to firing in which a local youth was killed. By then, Naser and at least one of his brothers — now also in the custody of the Karnataka Police — were already converts. Naser explained that after 9/11, he had been much taken with the idea of joining the jihad against America in Afghanistan.In August 2005, he travelled to Saudi Arabia, a trip facilitated by a Hyderabadi friend whose brother, Abdul Samad, lived in Jeddah. Samad sent Naser for what eventually became an 18-month, multi-location training programme in Pakistan.

It is here that the story gets interesting. Naser describes different types of training in different cities. From Karachi, he is driven to Gwadar (Baluchistan), where he is introduced — along with others — to the use of assault rifles that include AK-47s, light-machine guns, “Bren machine guns…. Austrian Styre sniper rifles” and so on.

At the LeT complex of Markaz Tayyabah, near Lahore, he is taught horse riding. In Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, in Muzaffarabad and Manshehra — where one of his co-trainees is a Maldives national called ‘Abu Zaid’, who Naser says was later killed in the Kashmir Valley — and in a “mountainous” training centre he learns about “guerrilla warfare, ambush, hideout, raid, camouflage, recce…” In Rawalpindi, he learns of the “use of satellite phones… [and] disadvantages of using mobile and land lines”. In PoK again, he mixes hydrogen peroxide with rice, dal, mehndi and tobacco, and produces explosives. When Naser was arrested, he was on his way to waylay a truck that he knew was carrying hydrogen peroxide — a chemical that has industrial uses but is also present in cosmetics. He was to carry a part of his loot to Goa and execute the bombings. The use of hydrogen peroxide, easily available and not as difficult to source as say RDX, was seen as a cheap, low-cost terror mechanism.

It is worth noting that the 2008 terror bombings in, for example, Delhi and Ahmedabad also used commonly accessible chemicals. Earlier, two suspected terrorists had been arrested in Goa — in an incident unrelated to Naser — while working in a beauty parlour, attempting to pilfer cosmetics and hydrogen peroxide.

On January 1, 2008, in preparation for the Goa mission, a contact called ‘Aslam’ had visited Naser in Hubli and gave him two fake student identity cards — of BVB College of Engineering, Hubli, and of St Aloysius College. Ironically, the terrorists who attacked the Taj Mahal and Oberoi Hotels in Mumbai also carried student identity cards related to Karnataka-based colleges. Is this suggestive of a local link, admittedly a low-level and possibly non-lethal one, or is this a mere coincidence?

Was the intensive, sometimes commando-style training Naser got indicative of his recruiters identifying him for a high-profile urban guerrilla-style attack and then deciding he wasn’t up to it and demoting him to the less sophisticated, hydrogen peroxide type bombings? Do the 26/11 attacks and the dozen-odd bombings that major Indian cities experienced in 2007-08 form a continuum? To the UPA government, have these become inconvenient truths?

(Ashok Malik is a Delhi-based writer)

Bangalore blasts planned in Kerala, 9 Islamic terrorists arrested: Police

Bangalore blasts was conspired in Kerala

BANGALORE: The investigation into last year’s Bangalore serial blasts revealed that a meeting between Abdul Sattar and Riyaz Bhatkal, who is still at large, took place at Aiswarya Tourist Home in Ernakulam. The room was booked by Sattar and the entry was made in his own handwriting. Here, they hatched the conspiracy to prepare micro chip-based timer devices to be used for IEDs.

Their mission was ‘Shock Bangalore’
8 Feb 2009, TNN

Bangalore : It is official. A group of radicals, alleged to be involved in crimes including an attempt to murder former Kerala chief  minister E K Nayanar, were behind the Bangalore blasts on July 25, 2008. All they wanted to do is `shock’ Bangalore. The reason: the city’s economic prosperity and BJP romping home to power.

Speaking to the media on Saturday, police commissioner Shankar Bidari said: “The first stage of investigation is over but we are still continuing probe as terror networks are complex. We need to coordinate with several national agencies.”

He added the gang did not mean to cause huge damage and chose less crowded places to plant the bombs. The serial blasts in eight locations killed one — Sudha, 35, from Arasikere, wife of Muniraju — and injured eight. The police have arrested nine persons so far, and four other accused died in an Army encounter in Jammu and Kashmir.

RECAP

* Eight blasts shook the city on July 25 last year, between 1.30 pm and 2 pm

* All the blasts occurred on the roadside, from Madiwala check-post to Kengeri on Mysore Road

* An unexploded IED was found near The Forum mall in Koramangala on July 26 and diffused by a bomb disposal squad

* An explosion at Channapatna near Ramanagaram on July 24 came to light later. A large quantity of ammonium nitrate mixture was found in a steel trunk, along with detonators and a steel pipe, near a toy shop

* On July 26, 21 serial blasts in Ahmedabad killed 56 and injured 200. Twenty-eight IEDs were found in Surat on July 26 and 27

INVESTIGATION

A police team comprising joint commissioner Gopal B Hosur, ACPs Jitendranath and Omkariah, inspectors Badrinath, Pooviah and others was in charge of the investigation. While Indian Mujahiddin (IM) had claimed responsibility for the blast in other places, there was no word on the Bangalore blasts. The only clue was the similarity between IEDs found in Surat and Bangalore. Interaction with police and investigation agencies revealed IM was not behind Bangalore blasts.

The breakthrough came when Mumbai police arrested some IM members in Mangalore, who spilled the beans about `Shahbuddin Gowri Brigade’, the name that was mentioned in IM’s e-mails. Besides, explosive material were sourced from Kerala.

KERALA CONNECTION

Four persons from Kerala, who were killed in an Army encounter at Jammu and Kashmir, threw light on the case. Police recovered BMTC bus tickets from the deceased. They were found to have travelled frequently on a particular route on Hosur Road.

With the Kerala angle coming to fore, Bangalore police camped there for weeks and gathered information. They found Abdul Sattar of Mallapuram was the brain behind the microchip-based timer devices. Sattar had prepared the devices on the request of mastermind Riyaz Bhatkal for the Surat blasts, through an intermediary based outside the country.

After coming to know Sattar was hiding in Hyderabad, the city police, with the help of their Andhra Pradesh counterparts, nabbed him. Police also came to know Sattar had given shelter to Riyaz when he was in Hyderabad.

Kerala police had arrested five youths who were induced to go across the border for terrorist training. These were Abdul Jabbar, 35, Mujeeb, 26, Abdul Jaleel, 35, Faizal, 24 and Badruddin, 28. The city police took their custody from Kannur jail for interrogation.

CONSPIRACY

During Sattar’s interrogation, the police learned he had met Bhatkal on April 13, 2008, at a hotel in Kuttipuram, Ernakulam. The room was booked by Sattar, stating the purpose as `meeting’. Here, they are said to have planned how to prepare micro-chip based timer devices to be used as IEDs.

Another accused Mujeeb was married and settled down in Bommasandra. When the blasts plan was finalized, the gang brought material like ammonium nitrate, nuts and bolts, printed circuit boards and tool wires from Kannur, and stored it at Mujeeb’s house. They had also purchased plastic and steel tiffin carriers, buckets, English newspaper bundles, empty plastic containers and a bag of cement. Flower pots were prepared using nuts and bolts as projectiles.

After the preparation of bombs, the gang conducted a recce on July 23 and 24 to select the places. They left for Kerala via Mysore.

Bangalore Islamic terror attacks shows prove links between Lashkar-Indian Mujahideen

“The Lashkar finds the Kerala wing of the IM to be the most dedicated and hence has chosen its cadres for Kashmir.”

Revealed: LeT’s close ties with Indian Mujahideen

Vicky Nanjappa in Bengaluru
February 07, 2009

The cracking of the Bangalore serial blasts case has confirmed security agencies’ claims about Lashkar-e-Tayiba’s links with the dreaded Indian Mujahideen.

Interrogation of terror suspects revealed that they belonged to a terror module in Kerala operated by the Lashkar.

Giving more proof of the close links between the Lashkar and the IM, interrogations revealed that the cadres were constantly monitored by Riyaz Bhatkal and Abdul Subhan alias Tauqueer. While Bhatkal headed operations for the Lashkar in south India, Subhan was in charge of the Indian Mujahideen.

Abdul Sattar, one of the accused in the Bangalore blasts case, says that the orders to carry out the attack came from both Bhatkal and Subhan. The duo was in constant touch with Sattar and monitored every bit of the operation.

They even coined the code word for the Bangalore operation, Tomato Work.

The arrested men also revealed that they returned to Kerala after the Bangalore assignment and after having spent some time there were directed to leave for Kashmir. Lashkar has been constantly sending Indian Mujahideen operatives from Kerala to train in Kashmir, they added.

Their brief was to specialise in Kashmir and fight alongside the Lashkar in the Valley.

The accused disclosed that from Kerala they went to Kashmir via Hyderabad, trained there for a couple of months and then returned to Kerala.

Intelligence Bureau sources told rediff.com that the Lashkar is short-staffed for its Kashmir battle and has been constantly preparing youth from Kerala. Over the past one year, nearly 100 youth — who form part of the IM module in Kerala — have been sent to train in Kashmir.

The Lashkar finds the Kerala wing of the IM to be the most dedicated and hence has chosen its cadres for Kashmir.

All these operations in South of India were being monitored by Riyaz Bhatkal, who was also handed over additional charge of overseeing the IM when it was being set up.

Bhatkal, according to the IB, is a crucial link in the terror network. It is also said that Bhatkal was aware of the November 26 attack in Mumbai when it was being planned and helped in arranging local help.

Bhatkal, who originally was an underworld operative, was handpicked by the Lashkar for its south-based operations. The IB says that the Lashkar was impressed with his dedication.

Besides, Bhatkal shared a good relationship with IM mastermind Abdul Subhan and guided him in all the operations.

Both Bhatkal and Subhan are missing and a massive manhunt has been launched for the duo. While Subhan is believed to be hiding in Pakistan, Bhatkal, according to security agencies, is in the Gulf.

IB sources say that nabbing both these men would be crucial to several terror-related probes.

Arrest of 5 Kerala Muslims solves Bangalore terror blasts, say police

Kerala terror module key in 11 accused for Bangalore blasts

Solved, claim cops: 9 held for Bangalore blasts

CNN-IBN
Feb 07, 2009

VEILED FACE OF TERROR: Abdul Sattar, a native of Malappuram in Kerala was arrested in Hyderabad.

New Delhi: Bangalore Police claims that the July 25, 2008 blasts case has been solved and all the main accused arrested. Nine persons have been arrested in connection with the serial blasts that had rocked the country’s IT hub and police say most of them are from Kerala.

The arrested men are Abdul Sattar, Abdul Jabbar, Mujeed, Faizal, Abdul Jaleel, Manaf, Sarfuddin, Badruddin and Fakria. They have all been arrested from Kerala.

The plot was revealed to the city police by Sattar during his interrogation. The Bangalore police had got his custody from the Hyderabad Police. All the arrests are linked to a Kerala-based terror module which sent youths to LeT camps in PoK.

He said that misguided local youth – who were influenced by the radical group in Kerala – were behind the blasts. “They did it to create a sensation,” he stated.

Bangalore Police Commissioner Shankar Bidri said the case was a watertight case.

“A dedicated team worked for three months on the case. The Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat Police helped us. Since no militant group had claimed the responsibilty for the blasts, our job tough was made even more tough,” he added.

“Four people who helped plan and execute the Bangalore blasts were killed by security forces in Jammu and Kashmir when they were trying to cross the border. It was major lead for our investigation,” Bidri said.

One person was killed and several people were injured on July 25, 2008, when nine low-intensity bombs exploded between 13:30 hrs IST and 14:15 hrs IST, some near the Electronic City in Bangalore.

This is the second time in two-and-a-half-years that the country’s infotech capital was struck by terror.

The Bangalore blasts followed a terror attack in the city in December 2005 and similar serial blasts in Jaipur on May 13.

Email warns of similar Islamic terror attack Bengaluru

Email warns of similar B’luru attack
By OUR CORRESPONDENT

Bengaluru

Dec. 7: Bengaluru is on high alert following an email threat of a Mumbai-style attack in the city, that unconfirmed reports said originated in Karachi, home of Jaish-e-Mohammed’s Masood Azhar. The Intelligence Bureau on Sunday alerted Bengaluru about a possible terror attack in 48 hours – that is Sunday and Monday – informed sources said.

The police enhanced security at all vital installations in the city on Sunday following an emergency meeting with the home department and National Security Guard director J.K. Dutt, who was in the city to condole with the family of slain NSG commando Sandeep Unnikrishnan. Mr Dutt met top police officials, senior bureaucrats and state home minister V.S. Acharya, who confirmed receipt of the threat.

Security has been tightened across the city, especially at Bengaluru International Airport, City Railway Station, the main bus terminals and commercial areas.

“After the alert from Delhi, armed security personnel have been provided at vital installations. According to the threat, Sunday and Monday could be crucial,” a source said.

Sources said the home department received an alert from the Union home ministry after security agencies received an email from an unnamed terror group threatening to carry out strikes in Bengaluru.

However, DGP R. Srikumar denied that there was an email threat and said a high alert has been in place ever since Mumbai attacks.

Sources said however that Mr Dutt held talks with Mr Srikumar and city police commissioner Shankar Bidari during which the modus operandi of the terrorists who attacked Mumbai was discussed in detail.

A high-level meeting has also been called on Monday morning.