Vizag police detain 5 terror suspects travelling with Iraqi passports

Andhra Pradesh Police on Wednesday intercepted a vehicle with Delhi registration number and nabbed five persons, including two women, in Visakhapatnam district and is trying to ascertain whether they are the same suspected terrorists who had fled from neighbouring Odisha.

“On suspicion, a vehicle with a Delhi registration number has been intercepted in Visakhapatnam district. Five people including two women travelling in the vehicle are being questioned,” a senior Intelligence officer said on Wednesday night.

Asked if those intercepted persons are the same four persons who had fled from Odisha, a senior police officer from Visakhapatnam said, “We are in the process of verifying… We don’t have more details at this point of time. We are still verifying… There is some communication problem… We are getting in touch with our people.”

The Odisha police had alerted its Andhra counterpart after the CCTV footage indicated that the car used by the four suspected terrorists has crossed the check gate at Girisola bordering Andhra Pradesh.

The four men, presenting themselves as Iraqi nationals, fled when asked to produce their identity proof at the hotel in Bhubaneshwar on the eve of Republic Day.

When asked whether the persons being questioned by Andhra Pradesh Police are the same who went missing from Bhubaneshwar, Andhra Pradesh DGP J V Ramudu said, “We have no confirmation yet.”

Odisha Police had released CCTV grabs of the vehicle and one of the four suspected persons on Wednesday evening.

PTI