'Lone wolf' attacks a major concern, says Maharashtra ATS Chief

Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) Chief Atulchandra Kulkarni has said that 'lone wolf' attacks are a major cause of concern in present-day Maharashtra.

Speaking at the first National Workshop on Explosives Detection (NWED), which was inaugurated on Friday at the High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) in Pune, Kulkarni noted that a number of branches of militancy are coming to the fore, and dubbed these as a major cause of worry for the national security of the country.

"There are a number of people shaking hands between organisations which is a major worry for us. You'll have Maoists shaking hands with Islamic militants. We will have Sikh militancy also coming up in times to come," he claimed.

The ATS chief further said the presence of Islamic State on the internet remains a serious threat, even after the outfit has lost quite a bit of its control in various regions controlled by it.

Kulkarni's remark comes less than a week after the ATS revealed that a man, who was arrested on December 2 for allegedly carrying weapons, was in contact with Khalistani activists in Pakistan and India.

During the probe, it was also revealed that the man was allegedly involved in the Khalistan movement.