Rayachoti, 5 July

The Andhra Pradesh police on Saturday identified one of the two terror suspects arrested here recently by Tamil Nadu police as a "big fish", with advanced bomb making skills.

Kurnool Range Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Koya Praveen said Abubacker Siddique operated as a lone wolf, providing his terror expertise to those who shared his radical ideology and was influenced by radical fugitive preacher Zakir Naik.

“This fellow (Siddique) whom we caught is too big a fish than what we had thought…This fellow is too big a fellow, who had travelled all across the length and breadth of this country. Who frequently travelled to the Gulf also, Abubacker Siddique,” Praveen told PTI.

Recently, Tamil Nadu's Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested Siddique and his accomplice Mohammed Ali in Rayachoti in Annamayya district.

“Zakir Naik school of thought. He is more of a lone wolf. Ideologically motivated and an expert in making IEDs and electronic devices, timer explosive devices,” said Praveen.

According to police, Siddique is an expert maker of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), timer explosive devices and other highly lethal materials.

Police conducted a fresh round of searches today at the duo’s premises, but did not find any explosives. They managed to confiscate some documents and pen drives.

Earlier, police recovered daggers, sickles, digital timers, clock switches, speed controllers, ball bearings, nuts and bolts, binoculars, walkie-talkies, mobile phones, and hacking software.

They also seized maps of major Indian cities, coding manuals, ISIS-inspired literature, property documents, digital storage devices, cheque books, and financial records linked to suspicious transactions.

On 3 July, police disposed of a parcel bomb seized from them.

After settling in Rayachoti, the DIG noted that Siddique, who is in his mid-50s, had carried out the bomb blast at BJP’s Malleshwaram office in Bengaluru.

Siddique was allegedly involved in the 2011 pipe-bomb planting attempt during BJP veteran and former Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani's rath yatra in Tamil Nadu's Madurai, among other terror activities.