A Karnataka man accused of making threat and extortion calls to Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has terror links, an ongoing probe into the case has revealed.
Sources said on Saturday that the accused, Jayesh Poojari from Mangaluru who is currently in jail, is in connection with terrorist Afsar Pasha, who was involved in the 2005 terror attack on the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru.
According to the sources, Pasha, who is currently lodged in Belagavi’s Hindalga jail, has links to the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist outfit.
The probe further revealed that Poojari had made the calls after colluding and planning with Pasha.
The Maharashtra Special Task Force sleuths had also visited Hindalga prison to gather information.
Poojari made the first call to the Union Minister on January 14 and demanded Rs 100 crore in extortion money.
He had threatened to explode Gadkari’s Jan Sampark office if the ransom was not paid.
The Maharashtra Police had taken up the investigation and traced the call to the Hindalga prison.
He again made an extortion call to Gadkari’s Jan Sampark office on March 21 and demanded for a Rs 10 crore ransom.
Poojari was taken into custody by the Maharashtra Police on March 28.
The police are preparing to submit a charge sheet in connection to the case.