Has the Congress-led Karnataka Government Turned Bengaluru into a Jihadi City?

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Bengaluru's security situation is under scrutiny following the arrest of an Al-Qaeda operative.
- The BJP blames the Congress government for rising lawlessness.
- Shama Parveen's alleged connections to Al-Qaeda raise serious concerns.
- The investigation involves central agencies and spans multiple states.
- Social media plays a role in promoting extremist ideologies.
Bengaluru, July 31 (NationPress) Following the recent arrest of a female Al-Qaeda operative by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), the BJP has claimed that the Congress-led Karnataka government has transformed the once peaceful Garden City of Bengaluru into a Jihadi City.
The detained individual, identified as 33-year-old Shama Parveen Ansari, hails from Jharkhand.
R. Ashoka, the Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, criticized the Congress government, stating, "The appeasement politics of the Congress regime has led to a complete breakdown of law and order in the state."
Ashoka pressed Home Minister G. Parameshwara for a response regarding this alarming situation.
In his response, Home Minister G. Parameshwara acknowledged that there had been prior reports indicating that Bengaluru has become a hub for sleeper cells. He noted that the arrested woman is not a resident of Karnataka and that central agencies are managing the ongoing investigation.
Parameshwara further elaborated, "This is a nationwide issue, not limited to our state. Often, these individuals originate from various states and are challenging to monitor. In the recent MDMA case in Mysuru, the suspects had only just arrived before their arrest by central agencies, who had already exposed the network."
He emphasized that investigations occasionally lead to arrests from states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and information sharing is crucial in a federal structure.
Police reports indicate that the ATS investigation uncovered Ansari's alleged involvement in bolstering the Al-Qaeda network in Bengaluru, where she had been residing in the Manorayanapalya area.
The authorities seized digital devices, including a laptop and mobile phones, from her possession.
Shama Parveen, a graduate who moved to Bengaluru three years ago to live with her brother, a software engineer, allegedly supported the ideology of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) on social media, particularly Instagram. She reportedly shared videos of an Al-Qaeda operative and called upon youth to embrace terrorism.
The Gujarat ATS had previously apprehended four Al-Qaeda operatives, establishing connections between them and Shama Parveen during their investigation.
Consequently, the ATS team traveled to Karnataka based on the evidence and arrested her. She was subsequently presented in court and transferred to Gujarat after securing a transit warrant, as confirmed by police sources.