Mumbai: Officers of the Mumbai crime branch and Karnataka police were shocked to find the first-floor of Riyaz Bhatkal's house converted into a laboratory.
A crime branch officer who raided Riyaz's house in the Bhatkal area of Karnataka said the house looked like any other house in the area.
"The ground floor was like any other house with a living room, kitchen, and other rooms. But when we went to the first floor we were shocked," the officer said.
The room, the officer said, had been converted into a laboratory with all kinds of equipment, chemical apparatus, computers, a blackboard and other study material. "It looked as if it was a lab where bombs were made," he said.
The blackboards were used to draw the designs of bomb circuits and other electronic circuits.
The police seized a suitcase that belonged to Riyaz. "The suitcase was filled with clothes and other materials and looked as if it was kept ready for an emergency," the officer said.
The police also found four hand grenades in the suitcase. "The grenades were probably kept for self-defence."
According to sources, Riyaz had gone to Bhatkal to meet his wife and newborn daughter but fled around September 29 or 30.
