A Bengaluru police team here is awaiting the nod from its Kerala counterpart since Tuesday night to arrest Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Abdul Nasser Madani in connection with the 2008 Bengaluru serial blasts case.
Official sources said senior Kerala police officials are weighing the possible fallout of Madani’s arrest and the ways to tackle it as PDP workers continued to converge at his camp at Anwarassery near here since Tuesday.
The Bengaluru police team led by circle inspector Siddappa reached here on Tuesday to arrest Madani, whose anticipatory bail plea was rejected by the Karnataka high court last week.
The Bengaluru police had produced relevant documents and had discussions with district superintendent of police Harshita Attalluri, who said the arrest could take place any moment.
Madani himself told journalists on Tuesday that he would cooperate with the arrest respecting the judiciary but would continue his legal battle to prove his innocence.
The Kerala police was learnt to have advised the Bengaluru police team “not to rush” without considering the reactions the arrest could spark not only in and around Madani's camp at Anwarassery but also in other parts of the state.
They also took into account factors such as the health problems of Madani, who was said to be suffering from fever. Doctors from a nearby private hospital were called to attend on him on Tuesday night, the police sources said.
The state police was also seized of the possibility of radical outfits like Popular Front of India, under scanner for its role in chopping off the hand of a college lecturer, exploiting the situation to fan trouble, they said.
The lecturer T.M. Joseph was attacked on July four for preparing a question paper with alleged derogatory references to Prophet Mohammed. Security across the state, already tight in view of the visit of President Pratibha Patil later this week and the Independence Day has been beefed up further in the wake of the development concerning the PDP leader, sources said.
Madani has been listed as an accused in the case relating to Bengaluru blasts on July 25, 2008, which had claimed the life of a woman and left 20 others injured.
The PDP leader was the main accused in the Coimbatore serial bomb blasts case in 1998, in which 58 people were killed, hours before BJP leader L.K. Advani was to address an election meeting.