Kozhikode hunt for Fahad’s Kerala links

Police on Saturday conducted searches at the residence of Pakistani militant Mohammed Fahad’s father in Kozhikode to find more about the Kerala connection of the youth who was arrested from Mysore.

A 20-member police team led by a Deputy Superintendent of Police searched the house at Kappad, near Kozhikode, which belongs to Fahad’s father Abdulla. Abdulla had migrated to Pakistan in the 1970s, police sources said.

Besides seizing some letters and telephone diaries, the police team also ascertained information about the family from the neighbours, sources said.

The investigation focussed on Fahad’s possible visits to the area recently, sources added. Karnataka police had alerted its Kerala counterpart yesterday about Fahad’s Kerala connection, immediately after his arrest along with a fellow-militant in Mysore.

The investigation team from Karnataka was also expected to arrive in Kozhikode for joint investigation about the antecedents of Fahad and his father, they added.

Mohd Ali Hussain and Fahad, members of Pak-based terror outfit, Al-Badr, were arrested on Friday after a gunbattle with Karnataka police, which foiled a terror plot targetting Bangalore, the country’s IT hub, and an imposing building housing the State secretariat and legislature there. Two constables were injured in the gun battle between terrorists and police.

Mohammed Fahad had come to India on a 45-day visa on the pretext of visiting his Malayalee parents. Fahad’s father Abdullakoya was from Kappad near Kozhikode and had reportedly migrated to Pakistan.

Abdullakoya’s first wife still lives in Kappad. The police of both the States are jointly probing Fahad’s background.

Fahad, who has a fair knowledge of Malayalam, had got his visa stamped for Karnataka and Kolkata and had arrived at the Mumbai airport in February this year. He came into the net of security agencies after he was spotted at Lal Chowk in Srinagar, after which surveillance was tightened on him.