Bengaluru IISc attack suspect arrested from Agartala

The Karnataka Anti-Terror Squad and Tripura Police on Friday arrested a suspect from Jogendranagar area near Agartala in connection with the 2005 terror attack at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru.

The arrested man, identified as Habib Miyan, had reportedly helped the main accused - Abu Hamza, a Pakistani national, and Ahmed alias Saba alias Farhan from Motihari in Bihar to escape to Nepal after the terror attack, which claimed the life of one Prof M.C. Puri and injured several other scientists.

Public Prosecutor Uttam Banerjee told ANI, "One suspect in the 2005 militant incident in Bangalore was arrested from Jogendranagar. He has been identified as Habib Mia and was produced in a local court here with plea for transit remand to take him to Karnataka."

Meantime, Habib Miyan's sister Sabna Begam rubbished the allegations levelled against him and said that her brother was innocent.

"My brother is innocent and is not connected to any crime. He is very religious and works as a plumber. He has not even stepped out of the state. All allegations against him are false," she said.

Earlier on December 28, 2005, two gunmen wearing black masks and army uniforms in a car started firing indiscriminately from a rifle towards the delegates at the IISc killing one Professor Munish Chandra Puri of IIT Delhi and injured four others.

The IISc attack was planned by Pakistan-based banned terror organiSation Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT).