A native of a village near Kozhikode, Kerala, Yahya Iyash Kamkutty came to Bangalore eight years ago after completing a bachelor's degree in engineering from one of Kerala's best institutes. While working with GE, he kept in touch with terror suspects Mohammed Asif, Asadullah Abubaker and their associates. The gang held several meetings in north Karnataka and were preparing to strike at key installations in the state, police said.
Yahya's arrest late on Thursday once again points to the increasing use of highly-trained professionals being lured into terror groups which have used sophisticated methods and planning in their attacks.
It was from Bangalore that Glasgow bomber Kafeel Ahmed, a PhD scholar in aeronautical engineering and his brother, Sabeel Ahmed, went to UK.
Police said Yahya became more active in SIMI after he lost his job at GE while trying to steal data to set up his own firm.
It was another arrested terror suspect, Mohammed Asif, who revealed the name of Yahya and his association with SIMI. Thereafter, the cops, who were investigating recent terror cases in north Karnataka, started questioning Yahya. Finally, on Thursday night, he was arrested.
Police have seized a laptop, hard disc, jihadi material and hundreds of books from Yahya's house. They would be sending the hard disc for decoding information. They are hoping to get his contacts, communication and plans from the email communication.
Karnataka sleuths took Yahya to Hubli to produce him before a magistrate because the case is registered there. They plan to take him in their custody and put him through polygraph tests, brain mapping and narcoanalysis