Hubli, Aug 12, 2014: S S Khot, a retired deputy superintendent of police of the state Corps of Detectives (COD), in the course of evidence in court hearings, narrating the antecedents of the accused said, the persons identified with Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) had planned to set off blasts in Mangalore and Goa.
According to reports, Khot, who was the investigating officer of the case related to a 2008 vehicle theft that led to the arrest of Mohammed Ghouse alias Raziuddin Nasir of Hyderabad and Asadulla. The case was at the first additional district and sessions court at Hubli on August 11. The presiding officer of the court, Gopalakrishna Kolli, was told that the accused had confessed to a plan to place bombs at Infosys office in Mangalore as well as along the Goa coast. "The accused told me that they had stayed in a lodge in Mangalore" said the officer.
They are said to have tried to enter Infosys building through the southern gate, but were stopped by the security staff at the entry gate and their plans failed according to S S Khot. Recapitulating the statements made by the arrested accused, Raziuddin Nasir and Asadulla, during their questioning, Khot said that the accused also told him of the failure of their plan to steal a motor bike from Karavali Utsav ground in Mangalore. Security staff of Infosys building have identified the photographs of Asadulla and his companion, Raziuddin. We also have evidence relating to the accused filling fuel in their motor bike at a petrol bunk located 20 km away from the city. We also have evidence of the two having stayed at the Dargah at Agumbe, Khot explained. He further said that the owners of a house near CBT Hubli, confirmed the two had lived there on arrival from Mangalore.
The accused also told me that they had planned to planed explosives at Calangute, Miramar and Baga beaches in Goa to kill Israeli citizens to send them a strong message. They were taken to those places for investigation. Both were identified by the manager and room boy of a lodge in Goa, Khot deposed. The case is yet to be closed.