Bhubaneswar, Dec 18: The suspected al Qaeda terrorist arrested from Cuttack, had links with a terrorist involved in the attack on Glasgow International Airport in 2007.
“The Delhi police, during interrogation has come to know about the link of Mohd Abdur Rahman, arrested in Cuttack on Wednesday, with a Bengaluru-based youth Kafeel who succumbed to burns in a failed attempt to ram an explosive-laden jeep into the Glasgow International Airport in Scotland in 2007,” R P Sharma, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Commissioner of Police told reporters here.
Rahman used to spend most of his time outside Odisha and came under the police scanner after Mohammand Asif, one of the founder members of AQIS, revealed his name.
Though Rahman has no criminal record and runs a madrasa at Tangi near Cuttack, the preliminary verification has revealed that he was involved in an incident at Sahi Masjid inside the Killa Fort in Cuttack in February, 2011.
The Commissionerate Police are presently verifying the madrasa where around 80 children in the age group of 10-15 years, mostly from Jharkhand, are studying.
Besides, police have been trying to collect information about Rahman’s other close associates and their modus operandi in Cuttack. Meanwhile, a high alert has been sounded across the State following the arrest of Rahman. Police were deployed in strength around vital installations across the State, including the Hirakud Dam in Sambalpur.
Visitors are not being allowed to cross the dam and were restricted to only the Jawahar Minar and Nehru Minar in Burla as a precautionary measure. The checking of vehicles and frisking was also tightened at the Biju Patnaik International Airport to avert any possible untoward incident.
The Commissionerate Police is putting in place several measures to avert any major terrorist activities. He said a special cell is also being set up to step up vigil and keep an eye on suspicious elements.
Home Secretary Asit Tripathy told reporters that the State Government is leaving no stone unturned to ensure safety to life and property of the people. “We are alert. We are also not taking any chances and are taking all steps to ensure safety of people,” Tripathy said.
In Puri also a security net was thrown around the Holy City and even coast guard alerted to keep a vigil on the coast line.
