High alert in coastal Karnataka after satellite phone calls tracked to foreign locations

Bengaluru: A red alert has been issued by the central intelligence agencies along the 225 kilometer-long coastal stretch of Karnataka after detecting suspected terror activities in the thick forests and hilly regions in the coastal districts, sources said.

Central Intelligence Agencies have detected calls being made from multiple locations in Karwar, Dakshina Kannada, and Chikkamaglur districts, which are on the radar of intelligence agencies for a long time for terrorists and Naxal activities.

The hilly and dense forest regions of the districts are being used as shelters to carry out anti-national activities by suspected terrorists. The calls were made from these locations in Karnataka to the foreign locations in the last week, according to sources.

The call locations are being tracked and investigations have revealed that the calls are being made to discuss carrying out nefarious activities. The sources are also looking into the angle of whether the sleepers cells in these locations are being activated by foreign elements.

Central Intelligence agencies have recently warned that as many as 12 suspected IS terrorists from Srilanka sneaked into the coastal districts of the state in the guise of fishermen. A red alert has been announced in the coastal areas in this backdrop.

Sources say that these calls were made from suspected terrorists. It is also suspected that these calls were made from sleeper cells in Karnataka. The intelligence agencies suspect that suspected terrorists are using Thuraya satellite phones which are banned in India from 2012.

The intelligence agencies raided multiple locations in Karnataka and Kerala last month. They have also taken two persons into custody for having connections with terrorists and carrying out anti-India propaganda.

Mohammed Ahmad Siddibappa aka Yasin Bhatkal was the founder leader of the terrorist organization Indian Mujahideen (IM). He was also listed on the National Intelligence Agency’s (NIA) most-wanted list and hailed from the coastal town of Bhatkal in Karnataka.

(With inputs from IANS)