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Police arrest suspected militant in Bangalore shootings

Posted on: Tuesday, 3 January 2006, 08:30 CST

BANGALORE (Reuters) - Indian police arrested a suspected Islamist militant in connection with last week's shooting at a prestigious science university in the technology hub of Bangalore, which killed a professor and wounded four other people.

Police said on Tuesday they arrested the Muslim man in the neighboring state of Andhra Pradesh and brought him to Bangalore for questioning.

"He is suspected to be a member of a militant group and involved in the shooting," a senior Bangalore police officer told Reuters. "It is a significant breakthrough."

The arrest was the first in connection with the shooting last Wednesday on the campus of the Indian Institute of Science.

The incident raised security concerns among hundreds of global technology firms based in Bangalore and the neighboring cities of Hyderabad and Chennai.

Southern India has been in a state of alert since the shootings, with hundreds of police on the streets of big cities.

In Hyderabad, two men were arrested on Sunday who police said were believed to be planning attacks on buildings housing several information technology companies as well as police headquarters. A large haul of explosives was found, officials said.

Bangalore is home to more than 1,500 information technology companies.

Police had earlier warned that some of these firms faced threats from Islamist militants fighting Indian rule in disputed Kashmir. The presence of these companies is widely seen as symbol of India's technological might and economic progress.

Source: REUTERS

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