Parrikar gives Bhatkal's father clean chit

Panaji: Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar Wednesday gave a clean chit to Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal's father, who is a member of a mosque-related trust in Goa, claiming there were no "adverse comments" against him.

"There are no adverse comments about him," Parrikar said, in the assembly in response to a question by the Bharatiya Janta Party's Vishnu Wagh on the Goa government's readiness to counter terror operations and modules in the state.

Parrikar said the security agencies informed that Bhatkal's father was a member of the committee in the Vasco port town 35 kms from here.

He said he would not like to discuss the security and intelligence-related issues in a public forum like the state assembly due to the sensitive nature of the case.

"However, in the light of the inputs received, all the officers and men of the Goa Police had been sensitised. Extensive tenant verification has been initiated. All the residents of Goa have also been requested through press to be careful in letting out their premises on rent and should get the credentials of the tenants verified," Parrikar said.

Bhatkal, who was arrested at the Indo-Nepal border, had confessed during interrogation by National Intelligence Agency (NIA) officials to staying in Goa for nearly one year, during which he had recced several potential terror-targets in the state.

Terror accused David Headley had already reconnoitered the two Chabad Houses in Goa, namely in Anjuna and Arambol, both coastal villages some years back.