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Investigatory officers claimed that Mufti Abu Bashir, the mastermind behind the Ahmadabad serial blasts has reportedly admitted his involvement in the Ahmadabad blasts on July 26.

Bashir who was arrested from Azamgarh district in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday by the UP Anti-Terrorist Squad and Gujarat Police, was interrogated which revealed many other things along with his involvement in blasts. He admitted his part in plotting the Ahmedabad blasts which killed 55 persons and left many injured.

“He is an important member of Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and many other names are coming out in the investigations. He has revealed many things and there are clear cut indications of his involvement in the Ahmedabad blast,” says DCP crime branch Adhay chudasama.

“He was involved in the planning and training of the people,” he added.

According to the reports Bashir claimed that mere Rs 75,000 were required for killing 57 people and a SIMI activist sold his house in Kutch to get the amount.

Crime branch officials found out during his interrogation that Bashir, the alleged mastermind of the blasts, was present in the city on the day of the blasts.

Bashir was sent to 14-day police custody on Sunday along with the nine accused arrested in connection with the Ahmedabad serial blasts case.

The other names include Zahid Sheikh, Imran Sheikh, Sajid Mansuri, Iqbal Sheikh, Samsudin Sheikh, Yunus Mansuri, Gyasuddin Ansari, Arif Kadri and Usman Agarbattiwala, all in the age group of 20-25 years.

Meanwhile, Ahmedabad Police has raided Imrans flat and sealed his two-room flat in the communally sensitive Bawamanpura locality that was allegedly used for providing shelter to SIMI activists and assembling of bombs prior to the July 26 terror attack. Police has taken his wife in custody.

The flat, located in the third floor of the four-storied Akmal Complex, was reportedly visited by another blast mastermind Abdul Subhan alias Taufique four days ahead of the blasts in Ahmedabad.

Tags: Abu Bashir, Ahmadabad, Ahmadabad Blasts, Anti Terrorist, Crime, Crime Branch, Investigation, SIMI, Terror, Terrorism, Terrorist, up

A day after the special tribunal of Delhi High Court lifted the ban on the controversial organization, Students’ Islamic movement of India (SIMI), the Supreme Court re-imposed the ban on Wednesday staying the Tribunal order.  After the home ministry had challenged the controversial judgment of the Delhi High Court and filed an appeal in the SC.

The apex court has issued a notice to SIMI asking as to why it should not be banned and has given them 3 weeks to respond to the same.

Justice Gita Mittal stated, “As the Centre’s order dated February 7 for further extension of the ban on SIMI was not backed by strong evidence, the Delhi High Court’s single judge Bench had to take such a decision.“

The Tribunal had lifted the ban on SIMI, citing lack of a concrete reason for continuing the ban. The organization was banned in 2006 with the charge of indulging in anti-India activities.

The ban will now continue as earlier. SC stated the decision in wake of recent terror attacks happening in the country. When the entire country is under the shadow of terror blasts, the verdict is justifiable. Because of these serious concerns, SC intervened and re-imposed the ban on SIMI before completion of 24 hours.

SIMI was first banned for two years in 2001, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act,

Tags: Ban, Delhi High Court, High Court, Justice, SIMI, Students Islamic Movement of India, Supreme Court

The Delhi High Court Tribunal headed by Justice Geeta Mittal, lifted the ban on controversial Students Islamic Movement of India on Tuesday night. The otherwise banned organization was prohibited since 2006 with the charge of indulging in anti-India activities but the tribunal observed no concrete evidence against SIMI to continue the ban.

“Material given by the Home Ministry is insufficient, so ban cannot be continued,” the judge said in a sealed order handed over to the ministry. However, the Home Ministry has said it will appeal in the Supreme Court against the ban.

SIMI was first banned for two years in 2001, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, after intelligence reports showed that its cadres were joining Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and was were providing support in setting up of ‘sleeper cells’ in India.

The ban has since been re-imposed after every two years, the last one being imposed on February 08, 2006 against which SIMI has appealed in the court.

Tags: Ban, Delhi High Court, High Court, Justice, SIMI, Students Islamic Movement of India, Supreme Court

After 48 hours of serial bomb blast in Ahmedabad, police late on Sunday made an arrest of an activist of the banned outfit, SIMI. Identified as Abdul Halim, the militant was arrested in Dani Limda, Ahmedabad after police traced a phone call and focused on eyewitness accounts. He has been interrogated in connection with the incident.

A live bomb in the city was being defused on Sunday and another three found in Surat city also.

The arrested man is wanted in connection with 2002 post-Godhra riots also. Regarding his arrested in connection with the 17 low intensity blasts happened in Ahmedabad on Saturday evening that claimed 49 lives, Ahmedabad Joint Commissioner of Police Ashish Bhatia told “His arrest could well be the first one in the series of more arrest likely to happen in connection with the serial blast. Of the 30 people who have been rounded up, the police is now concentrating on a couple of cycle shop owners and cycle distributors.”

“There were reports that he was hiding in Delhi and we had intimidated Delhi Police as well. After receiving some specific inputs about his whereabouts, the crime branch arrested him during a combing operation,” he added.

A high alert has been declared at several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi visited Ahmedabad on Monday. They are likely to meet the injured people in hospitals undergoing treatment.

On Saturday evening, 16 coordinated serial blasts rocked the city killing 49 people and injuring more than 150, a day after eight explosions rippled the IT city, Bangalore which killed one woman and injured many.

Tags: Ahmedabad, ahmedabad serial blast, bomb blast, SIMI, SIMI activist, Terror

It is reported that the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) can target Goa for its next terror operations, presently being in Karnataka.

SIMI had made Karnataka its base to conduct and assist in terror acts across India. But now, Intelligence Bureau sources said that the change in Karnataka government switching to first time Bharatiya Janata Party in power has made the banned outfit shift out of the state.

Mohammad Asif, a SIMI operative who was arrested recently in Karnataka, revealed during his narco analysis test that the outfit had decided to shift out of the state if the BJP came to power.

With other gathered information, the IB has come to the conclusion that Goa would be the next hub for SIMI.  An IB official said at least 60 per cent of SIMI’s operations have already been shifted to Goa.

IB told two reasons behind moving to Goa by SIMI. First, an attack on Goa would get SIMI worldwide attention thanks to the foreign tourist presence there. Second, security in Goa is not up to the mark lest it act as a deterrent for tourism which is one of the state’s primary sources of income.

A senior police officer in Goa told rediff.com that SIMI was in constant touch with certain Naxalite outfits and had sought their help in setting up base there.

A police officer in Karnataka said, “This move does not mean that their job will become easier. SIMI’s plans to carry out attacks in Karnataka are still on, and they need to keep a constant watch on its movements.”

In Goa SIMI plans to conduct training programs for its cadres, launch recruitment drives and, over a period of time, smuggle in arms and ammunition as was being done in Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka.

Tags: Goa, Karnataka, Naxal, Naxalite, SIMI, Terror, Terrorist

Three top leaders of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) - Safdar Hussein Nagori, Qamaruddin Nagori and Aamil Parvez were taken for Narco Analysis Test at Forensic Sciences Laboratory (FSL), Bangalore on Monday.

As told by the sources, the leaders were taken in a private airlines’ flight from Dev Ahilyabai Airport in Indore with senior police officers under tight security arrangements.

Meanwhile local court permitted the police to conduct Narco test on two more leaders - Raess Ahmed Khan and Abdul Razzaq who were arrested on March 31 from two different areas of the city. They would be soon taken to Ahmedabaad-based laboratory for the test.

There were doubts of involvement of SIMI group to be involved in Mumbai blast. Many other doubts remain unclear because of misleading information by the leaders. Tests are expected to reveal hidden facts and other information about the further plans of the banned outfit.

Tags: India, Narco, SIMI

After the recent arrest of five activists from banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) from Unhel town in Madhya Pradesh`s Ujjain district the women wing of the outfit also came into light.

A top police source said on Wednesday that after arrest of top leader of SIMI the law enforcement agencies have now set their eyes on its women’s wing `Shaheen Force`.

There is doubt of involvement of around four women in the outfit but no arrests have been made so far by police.

Reports also suggested that the house in Shyam Nagar area where SIMI activists were holed up for a meeting was taken by its head Safdar Hussein Nagori with the help of a woman activist.

The activists of the Shaheen Force spread the outfit’s ideology among the women living in the backward areas in the cities and later enrolled them as outfit members, the sources said.

“There was nothing new in women joining the SIMI till the organization was banned in 2001. However later it was effectively checked,” sources added.

However, till date there no arrests have been made in this regard as told by police.

Tags: SIMI

Chief of Students Islamic Movement of India Safdar Hussein Nagori admitted on Monday before police officials that a meeting of important leaders of the outfit took place at Ujjain just before the Mumbai train blasts, which claimed a large number of lives.

Earlier SIMI activist Ehtesham Siddiqui was also arrested soon after the blast who also stated the same while interrogation that a meeting of the outfit was held in Ujjain just before the Mumbai train blasts.

However, the involvement of SIMI activists in the Mumbai train blast can’t be claimed on the basis of these statements only.

The Indore range Inspector General Anil Kumar told reporters that it is too early for the investigating team to establish whether the particular meeting took place to plot the Mumbai train blasts.

Major crackdown in the country is going on the matter of banned SIMI since March 27. Till date 20 SIMI activists are arrested by police. The activists are supposed to be engaged in other anti-national and terrorist activities. Investigations from different state police are still going to probe the arrested SIMI leaders.

Tags: SIMI

Seven activists of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) were arrested by the Madhya Pradesh police in the last two days. Five of them are arrested from Unhel town early on Monday and the two other were held on Sunday evening.

The five arrested include Jadil Pervez, Ayaz alias Atu, Akbar, Meharuddin and Isad.

“This is the second big achievement for Madhya Pradesh police in a week. Among those arrested is Jadil Pervez, brother of Amil Pervez, who was arrested from Indore recently,” Inspector General of Police M P Dwivedi said.

The police are interrogating the arrested activists to find out more information about the network of the banned outfit in the Ujjain division.

Two other SIMI activists who were arrested on Sunday evening were identified as Abdul Razzak and Rais Ahmed Khan. They were charged of providing assistance to its former chief Safdar Nagori and 12 other top activists, who were nabbed last week, in a major crackdown against the outfit.

Superintendent of Police Anshuman Singh Yadav said that these two were criminals with past records and belong to Indore.

He told that the case is filed against them under various section of the Indian Penal Code for providing assistance to the top SIMI activists and both will be interrofated for their involvement in the illegal activities.

On March 27, the Madhya Pradesh police had arrested Nagori and 12 others from Indore’s Shyam Nagar area. They have been remanded to police custody.

Nagori and the 12 top SIMI leaders have been charged with collecting arms with intention of waging a war against the Indian government and promoting enmity between classes.

Tags: India, SIMI

The Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday that banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and its associates were planning to commit serial blasts and other serious offenses in the country.

Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal told in a written reply that an arrested person disclosed this information. Though there is no specific plans outlined to attack important installations.

NSCN-K: National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang), which is in a ceasefire agreement with Assam Rifles, has abducted 20 youths from a district in Arunachal Pradesh and kept them in their camps at Myanmar.

Minister of State for Home V Radhika Selvi told that 52 youths of Tirap district were abducted by NSCN-K on three different occasions during January 2008.

“Inputs indicate that out of these, 30 have since been released and two others escaped from the custody. The remaining 20 are still reported to be in their custody and have been kept in their camps in Myanmar,” she said in the reply.

She said assistance of Myanmar government had also been sought in locating the kidnapped youths.

Tags: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, India, Lok Sabha, Nagaland, SIMI