Operation Puttur was an anti-terror operation launched jointly by the Tamil Nadu Police and the Andhra Pradesh Police, which captured two terror suspects in Puttur on 5 October 2013. Part of the banned Al Ummah outfit, they were planning to plant bombs at the famed Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, the most visited temple in India. The suspects also had a plan to murder a famous person in Chennai in the name of the "Muslim Defence Force." The operation reportedly ended those conspiracies.
The Tamil Nadu Police team landed in Puttur, located from Tirupathi and from Chennai on the evening of 4 October 2013. On 5 October 2013, two terror suspects were holed up in a house in Puttur. Bilal Malik and Panna Ismail were in the house; while their accomplice, Fakrudin was captured a day before in Chennai. The three were part of the banned Al Ummah outfit. They were planning to plant bombs in the famed Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, the most visited temple in India. and also had a plan to murder a famous person in Chennai in the name of Muslim Defence Force. They were earlier suspected to be involved in several other cases like the murder plot of L.K. Advani and bombing in Malleswaram in Bangalore where 16 people were injured. The operation was started at 4 in the morning and continued for 10 hours. One of the police constables sustained injuries in the operation and eventually died in hospital; of the four terrorists who were holed up, two namely Malik and Ismailn were captured. Malik's wife and three children were used by the two as human shields and the operation continued for 10 hours. The suspects came out of the house after a prolonged exchange of fire. They were coaxed and finally overcome by the dropping of percussion shells and tear gasfrom the top of the house. The operation was the first of its kind for Octopus, a newly formed anti-terror unit of the Andhra Police. The searches by the police yielded two bombs and a pistol used by the suspects. A police inspector named Lakshmanan who went incognito as a commoner was attacked by the militants and he sustained injuries. Mutual fire was exchanged for a while. Later in the day, the Octopus team members joined the operation. They cordoned off the area from common people and fired tear gas into the house. The two militants who rushed out were nabbed by the team. Mr. Panna Ismail sustained bullet injuries in the arrest. Two other suspects who were holed up escaped. It was later found out that the lady was the wife of Malik who preferred to stay with her and his children. The lady and the children were detained by Tamil Nadu police, which briefly created a furor. A twelve-member police team from Tamil Nadu visited the place few weeks after the operation along with Malik to hold enquiries about the duo. While most of the civilians were reluctant to reveal information, repeated queries and assurance of the police revealed that the duo were involved in selling vegetables less than the market price and were popular in the area.
Crew
Operation Puttur was a joint operation of the Tamil Nadu state police and the Andhra Pradesh State police. The operation was the first of its kind for OCTOPUS, a newly formed anti-terror unit of the Andhra Police constituted specifically for handling terrorism related issues. K. Srinivas, one of the civilians aged 25, was also in the team aiding the police. He was one of the three to climb up the roof of the house and issued warnings and persuasive statements to the suspects. He aided the police to drop stun grenades and tear gas from the roof into the houses.
