Was IRC set up by radicalised elements from Thirthahalli? Police digging roots

BENGALURU: A day after the relatively unknown Islamic Resistance Council (IRC) claimed responsibility for the Mangaluru cooker blast, investigating agencies are now veering around to the possibility that another terrorist organisation may have established itself in the state.

The organisation publicly announced itself for the first time on Thursday when it claimed responsibility for the Mangaluru incident. It even said that some temples in Mangaluru were its intended targets.

The autorickshaw in which the pressure IED went off.

Investigators, who are now probing the claims, suspect that the IRC may have been founded by some elements hailing from Thirthahalli in Shivamogga district and that Arafat Ali, Mateen Taha, Shariq and the others were actively part of it.

Police suspect that Arafat Ali and Mateen Taha, who are absconding, are behind setting up of the organisation. The IRC is also believed to have recruited members in the Malnad and coastal regions. The police are now on the trail of the IRC, but are unable to ferret out any information from Shariq who is undergoing treatment for burns.

The group claimed that a temple in Kadri was its target.

Years ago, two brother, Yasin and Riyaz Bhatkal, hailing from Bhatkal, had founded the Indian Mujahideen which had grown into a dreaded terror group.