LeT terrorist Afsar Pasha had played key role in Mangaluru bomb blast
   Date :30-Jul-2023

LeT terrorist
 
 
Staff Reporter :
 
LeT terrorist Afsar Pasha had played key role in Mangaluru bomb blast 
 
In a significant breakthrough, the police have revealed that the arrested Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist, Afsar Pasha, played a crucial role in the Mangaluru bomb blast that occurred in November last year. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has, recently, discovered evidence linking Pasha to the incident, shedding light on his involvement in training the accused, Mohammad Shariq, in the manufacturing of cooker bombs, a police official said. Pasha had returned to India after completing bomb-making training in Dhaka several years ago. He had previously been involved in a blast in Bangalore. Despite this, his role in the Mangaluru blast was overlooked during earlier investigations. According to the police official, Pasha and Jayesh Pujari alias Kantha alias Shahir, were actively propagating Islamic fanaticism within the Hindalga prison at Belagavi where they were serving jail term.
 
The accused were influencing several inmates. In the jail, Pasha provided training to Sharik on crafting cooker bombs, which were later used in the Mangaluru attack. The investigations have also revealed a concerning funding aspect linked to Pasha and his associates. The Popular Front of India (PFI) had transferred a substantial amount of Rs 5 lakh to Pasha’s account several months ago. The funds originated from the account of a person identified as Abdul Jalil, highlighting potential links between PFI and terrorist activities. The funds were purportedly used to support anti-national activities and provide various facilities to those involved. Smartphones were also reportedly made available to the accused within the prison walls, claimed the official. The police are now preparing a comprehensive report based on the information received from Pasha. The report has been shared with Director General of Police, ACS Home, Anti-Terrorism Squad, NIA, and Intelligence Bureau for further investigation.
 
It is believed that the NIA and ATS could potentially extract more crucial information from Pasha and Kantha, given their expertise in handling terrorist cases. Jayesh Pujari alias Kantha who had made the threat calls to Gadkari’s office after colluding and planning with Pasha. It may be mentioned that Pujari had made a threat call to Gadkari’s public relations office on January 14, demanding Rs 100 crore and claiming to be a member of the Dawood Ibrahim gang. At that time, he was lodged in the Belagavi jail. He made another call on March 21, threatening to harm Gadkari if Rs 10 crore were not paid to him. Pujari was arrested and brought to Nagpur on March 28 this year from a jail in Belagavi, and two cases were registered under provision of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act at Dhantoli Police Station.