A key accused in the 2011 Advani pipe bomb case and a police inspector, who were injured during the Puttur operation and admitted to government and private hospitals here, are responding to treatment, a senior police officer said here today.
"The condition of the police officer and the accused (Panna Ismail) are stable and they are responding to treatment well," Crime Branch-CID Inspector General Mahesh Kumar Agarwal told reporters here.
He said the agency was investigating the murder cases of Hindu outfit leaders-- Suresh, Vellaiyappan and 'Auditor' Ramesh.
Panna Ismail and Bilal Malik, two key suspects in the pipe bomb case and many other cases, were apprehended on October 5 after armed police personnel of both Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh surrounded a house at Puttur, close to the AP border with Tamil Nadu, and forced them to come out by using tear gas.
Elaborating on the Puttur operation, he said, "It was a joint effort by Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh police and lasted for 11 hours. The main challenge was to bring out the lady (Malik's wife) and three children out of the house. The accused were made to surrender."
The Inspector suffered injuries when he entered the house in disguise and was pulled in by the suspects while Panna Ismail suffered bullet injuries when police fired at the house to bring them out.
Asked whether there was any conspiracy against BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi,scheduled to visit Chennai on October 18, he said, "We are investigating the cases and we will give appropriate details once the investigation is over."
He also confirmed that only on information provided by another main accused 'Police' Fakruddin, who was arrested here on October 4, that the house in Puttur was stormed to nab his accomplices Panna Ismail and Bilal Malik.
Apart from the Advani pipe bomb case, the arrested were also believed to be involved in the recent murders of BJP and Sangh parivar unit leaders in Tamil Nadu.
The fourth suspect Abu Backer Siddique is still at large.
