Yahya SIMI’s north-south go-between

BANGALORE

: Yahya Iyash Kamkutty bridged
the north-south divide when it came to activities of the banned Students’
Islamic Movement of India.

Being employed in a well-paying job, he actively coordinated SIMI’s activities
in Bangalore
with north Karnataka and other states.

Yahya has been kept in the custody of CoD (Corps of Detectives) police till
March 6 for further interrogation. A resident of Mukkam in Kerala, Kamkutty
moved to Bangalore after he got selected in the
campus recruitment by Tata Infotech company in 1996 at his RegionalEngineeringCollege, Calicut.

In 1997, he went to Chennai for training and returned the same year. As he was
an active member of SIMI, it did not take him much time to find SIMI members in
Bangalore.

In 1999, he quit Tata Infotech and joined GE. He was busy for some time as he
had to go to the US
thrice during 2000 and 2001, the year SIMI was banned.

Over a period of time, Yahya came in contact with Adnan, one of the prominent
SIMI leaders in south India.
Adnan, a resident of Bijapur used to stay with his brother at Annasandrapalya
in Bangalore.

Yahya’s links to north Karnataka began after his introduction to Adnan. Yahya
came in contact with the now arrested terror suspects Mohammed Asif, Asaduallah
Abubaker, Shakeel Ahmed and Allabaksh, all active SIMI members, and Riyazuddin
Nasir alias Mohammed Ghouse, a Pakistan
trained Lashkar-e-Taiba activist. His network expanded after he attended the
meetings organised by Adnan and his associates in north Karnataka in 2007.

During this time, Yahya also came in contact with several SIMI leaders from
across the country, including Iqbal from Uttar Pradesh and Sibli from Kerala.
Since he belongs to Kerala, considered as the hotbed of SIMI activities, police
suspect he had several contacts there. Meanwhile, CoD sleuths are on the
lookout for Yahya’s absconding associates in Bangalore.

From the recent arrests and the revelations of the six arrested accused, the
investigators have stumbled upon the coordinated activities of SIMI in several
states including Karnataka, Kerala, UP, MP, Maharashtra and Andhra. They have
also unearthed the banned organisation’s link with terror outfit LeT.

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