In arrest of 12 men this week, focus back on a familiar Hyderabad name

The current investigations leading to the arrest of a youth in Hyderabad Saturday and 11 others in Karnataka earlier this week have revealed links with past terror investigations involving Shahid Bilal, alias Mohammed Abdul Shahed, a Hyderabad resident whose name was linked to many terror attacks in south India from 2004-2007. Bilal's brother has been identified as one of the Saudi Arabia-based handlers of the 12 arrested over the last few days.

While Bilal and his elder brother Abdul Samad were reported to have been killed in Pakistan in 2007, he had five other brothers and four sisters.

"Bilal and Abdul Samad were linked to the LeT and HuJI. There is another brother who is now based in Saudi Arabia who has emerged as a link between local groups in south India and the terror outfits,'' said highly placed sources.

According to sources, the Andhra Pradesh counter intelligence authorities found out about the "new sleeper module" about three months ago while monitoring the communication of Bilal's brother.

According to police records of 2005, besides Bilal, then 24, his brothers, Abdul Samad, then 38, and Abdul Khaled, then 36, were in Saudi Arabia. The records identified Bilal's other brothers as Abdul Majid, Abdul Ahad, Abdul Mujid and Abdul Zahed.

While announcing the arrests of the 11 youths from Bangalore and Hubli, Bangalore police commissioner Jyothi Prakash Mirji had stated that they were associated with the LeT and HuJI and their "handlers are based in Saudi Arabia''. The terror network established by Bilal is known to have had overlapping links with both LeT and HuJI.

"It seems like old LeT and HuJI links abroad were re-activated to create the module,'' sources said.

"The LeT and HuJI link in the case is through the handlers. We are still working on a clear picture on the identities of the handlers and how they intended to use the module,'' said a senior police official.

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