Police nab two terrorists in Puttur after high drama

Hyderabad, Oct 5 (INN): Two suspected terrorists belonging to Islamic Liberation Force were arrested by the police after a 10-hour commando operation in Puttur town of Chittoor district. The joint operation was conducted by the Andhra Pradesh Police, Tamil Nadu Police and OCTOPUS.

The suspected terrorists have been identified as Bilal Malik and Panna Ismail and both hail from Madurai. According to Director General of Police B Prasad Rao, the Tamil Nadu police raided a house in Puttur in the early morning on Saturday based on the information given by one "Police" Fakruddin who was initially caught in Tamil Nadu.

However, in the ensuing scuffle, at Puttur, one Tamil Nadu Inspector was grievously injured and was shifted to the hospital. In the process, police fired one round of shots in self-defence. The two suspects locked themselves inside the house, along with the wife and children of Bilal Malik, the DGP said.

Chittoor SP Kanti Rana Tata, along with the district force and Octopus team rushed to the scene and led the joint operation. Police teams exhibited restrain as there were children and one woman inside the house.

As part of the operation, two holes were drilled from the terrace of the house and stun grenades and tear gas shells were lobbed inside. Because of this, the inmates shifted to the front room of the hideout.

Thereafter, a negotiation team, comprising of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh police, engaged the militants to surrender. As a result, initially, the lady came out with three children. The other two militants also surrendered later.

In a nearby hideout belonging to Fakruddin, one pistol and some pipe bombs and IEDs were seized. The OCTOPUS team, along with a team from the Army, defused six IEDs already prepared and ready for use.

They also sanitised the premises in the search of which, explosives, detonators and other bomb making tools were recovered. This is the first real life operation conducted by the OCTOPUS since its formation in 2007 and the team performed very professional, the DGP said.

"While the Chittoor SP along with OCTOPUS commandos engaged in flushing out the terrorists from their hideout, information had been received that a woman with three infants holed up inside.

With a lot of restrain, the terrorists were given a chance to surrender to avoid spilling the blood of innocent woman and children. Two girls, aged three and five years, and one boy, aged two years, are the children of captured terrorist Bilal Malik," Prasad Rao said.

Once the woman and three children came out around 1.30 PM, a go ahead was given from the Police Headquarters to storm the house and complete the mission.

The two militants then surrendered around 2.45 PM. The injured one, Panna Ismail, was rushed to a Chennai Government Hospital, as had received a bullet injury in his stomach. The Tamil Nadu inspector received stab injuries in lung and was admitted in a hospital in Tamil Nadu and is stable, the DGP said.

The operation started at 5 AM and ended with success for the Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu police at 2.45 PM.

The arrested militants are accused in the cases of planting explosives on BJP leader LK Advani's route in October 2011 at Madurai; murder of Hindu Munnani president Vellyappan of Vellore on 1st July this year; murder of BJP Tamil Nadu General Secretary Ramesh on 19th July this year; Bangalore bomb blasts in April this year targeting BJP headquarters and murder of one Suresh apart from five others at Madurai in June this year.