Preliminary inquiries have indicated that the suspected Hizbul Mujahideen activist arrested from Kumali in Kerala's Idukki district had terrorist links, according to state Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.
The information gathered by the state police from Jammu and Kashmir authorities showed that Altaf Ahamad Khan, arrested on Saturday night, was wanted in connection with several cases relating to terrorist activities, Balakrishnan told a press meet .
Altaf had been staying in the tourist town for about five years and was suspected to have made trips to Jammu and Kashmir during this period. The police has also recovered an identity card in which his name was written as Muhammad Ahammad Butt.
In view of the development, police has been asked to step up vigil across the state with special focus on tourist centres and work sites that engage migrant labourers in large numbers, he said.
He said there had been intelligence reports that terrorists were making Kerala as a hiding place, making use of the tourism boom in the state. A top People's War Group(PWG) leader was also arrested from Ernakulam district recently.
To tackle the menace, the intelligence wing of the state police has stepped up interaction and sharing of information with its counterparts in other states.
Altaf had been running a handicraft shop at Kumali near the famed hill resort of Thekkadi. The police had been probing the whereabouts of Altaf after they came across "some details" as part of a passport verification recently. The investigators then contacted their Jammu and Kashmir counterparts and it was found that Altaf was allegedly involved in several terrorism-linked cases.
Meanwhile, the police this morning searched the handicraft shops run by people from Jammu and Kashmir at Kumali.
According to police sources, Altaf was expected to be produced in a local court in Idukki district this afternoon.
