B’luru gets special cell to tackle terrorism

Team Udayavani, Nov 6, 2019, 10:40 AM IST

Bengaluru: A Bengaluru specific Anti Terrorism Cell started functioning in the city under the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the Bengaluru police in view of NIA’s suspicion that some terrorist groups could be active in the city. The ATC is one of the three new wings added to the special branch of the city police. Two other new squads are the Anti-Narcotics Wing and the Women Protection Wing.

Addressing pressperson with this regard Sandeep Patil, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) said, “The new wings target three important areas: monitoring terrorist activities, checking the drug menace and ensuring the safety of women. We have created separate wings for them as it was earlier difficult for officers to focus on both the areas.”

The ATC will tackle terrorist activities. It will have the powers to supervise, investigate and track terror-related cases.

The decision to set up the ATC was made following the arrest of a number of Jamat-e-Mujahidin Bangladesh (JMB) cadres in and around Bengaluru, from whom explosive devices and many other incriminating materials were found in the last one year, the NIA had said.

These terrorists, involved in the October 2, 2014 bomb blasts at Burdwan in West Bengal, in which two persons were killed, had holed up in and around this city, the agency said.

They had carried out training programmes in Krishnagiri hills and wanted to set up base here to carry out their Jehadi activities across the country, the NIA probe, which busted the gang, had revealed.