Tech hubs, stock markets on terror radar

TERROR TRUTHS: Brain mapping of Bangalore terror suspects reveal deadly designs.

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Bangalore: Security agencies were up for a fresh shock after brain-mapping test on two terror suspects — Asadullah and Nasir — in Bangalore revealed some deadly designs of terrorist groups to target India's stock markets, tech hubs and tourist hotspots in the South. The two terror suspects had been arrested in Karnataka recently.

The revelations come a day after six militants arrested in UP revealed plans to strike at the Bombay Stock Exchange and other places.

"They gave weapons, 1 AK set and four magazines... and two grenades... Rs 3,000 for travel expenses — I brought all of this from Pakistan to India," Imran Bilal, a key accused in the Hyderabad blast, had revealed recently.

Bilal is allegedly the man who knew the main accused in the Hyderabad blasts, which had killed 42 people last year. His revelation during a narco-analysis test has now given the police an even bigger cause to worry about.

"He told me — Infosys and Wipro — in 2001... when I was here... I said Vidhan Soudha... but Vidhan Soudha was not a target of LeT... I don't know whose target it was... but they said Vidhan Soudha... and every IT company... they have a diary of IT companies...," some footage of Imran Bilal's narco test shows him as confessing.

This confirmed the fears that the terror network has moved South in a big way. The latest arrest of Riyazuddin Nasir and Asadullah Abubakr Mohammad Asif has now exposed how deep the terror network has penetrated some of the southern cities.

Interrogations of Riyazuddin Nasir and Asadullah Abubakr Mohammad Asif have revealed that the real threat comes not from Kashmiri militants but from local Kannadigas — educated, meritorious students with government quota seats in top colleges, who are being indoctrinated into joining terror groups.

Some of the CDs and books used to motivate these youths were recovered by the police from Hubli recently. Police say some of these materials trace the history of jihad and were used to provoke the unsuspecting youth.

"They also sent in people to motivate and recruit local people, and train them. They would then give them money in the name of religion, promise them more monetary gains or to sponsor higher education. These are some of the things that we have discovered post-IISC incident," former Karnataka DGP BS Sial says.

The most irrefutable proof of the spreading terror network in Karnataka is probably the improvised firing range, where suspected terrorists practiced with air guns. There were also evidence that attacks were being planned on Goa's beaches and discotheques.