The Kerala Police has arrested two more operatives of Base Movement, considered as an Al Qaeda-inspired outfit, in connection with the low-intensity explosion that took place at the district collectorate complex in Malappuram on November 1 last.
N Abu Backer, said to be the chief of the Base Movement, and his aide A Abdu Rahman were taken into custody from their rented house in Madurai, Tamil Nadu on Sunday evening and were brought to Malappuram early Monday morning, according to the police. They were arrested on the basis of information extracted by the NIA during the interrogation of five members of the outfit it had detained earlier in connection with the blasts at Malappuram and Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh. It is said that it was Abu Backer and Rahman who had formed the Base Movement in association with Abbas Ali, who was nabbed earlier by the NIA.
A low-intensity improvised explosive device fitted to the rear of a car parked at the district collectorate compound in Malappuram had exploded on November 1 last. Nobody was injured in the explosion.
The agencies had learned that the same group was behind the blasts that had occurred in 2016 at Malappuram on November 1, Chittoor on April 7 and Mysore on August 1.
According to the police, Abu Backer had been involved in several disruptive operations in Madurai and Theni in Tamil Nadu.
A pamphlet, titled ‘In the Name of Allah / The Base Movement,’ recovered from the Malappuram blast site had references to alleged human rights violations including the killing of Mohammad Akhlaq over the beef controversy in Dadri. The pamphlet also contained harsh criticisms against the Indian State and courts.