Six members of Lashkar-e-Taiba with a motive to radicalize
and recruit riot victims of Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar are on run and the
intelligence agencies along with Delhi police’s anti-terror wing – Special
Cell-- are making every effort to trace and nab them.
Confirmation of radicalization and recruitment drive by
terror orgnisation came to light after two people -- Liaqat and Zameer -- from
Muzaffarnagar disposed before the city court in Delhi on Monday that they were
contacted by LeT members to recruit riot victims, however, senior police
officials denied and said they are ‘still verifying the matter’. The duo
– Liaqat and Zameer -- gave the statement under Section 164 and Section 164
before the magistrate.
Their statement were recorded in ongoing investigation of a
case of criminal conspiracy and illegal drive to recruit riot victims for the
banned terror outfit which was registered at anti-terror wing’s office at Lodhi
Colony against unknown people in October.
The intelligence and investigative agencies came to know
about Pakistan-based banned terror organization just few days after the riot
broke out in Muzaffarnagar on August 27, 2013 contacted terrorists hiding in India.
Working on a tip-off of Central Intelligence Agency, the Special Cell
registered a case at Lodhi Colony and stared probe.
In October 24, 2013, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi
during a election rally in Indore in Madhya Pradesh also had hinted that
intelligence agencies of Pakistan were in touch with riot victims in
Muzaffarnagar to ensnare them into terrorism during an.
“A couple of days ago, an intelligence officer walked into
my office and told me that people from Pakistan are talking to the relatives of
Muslims killed in Muzaffarnagar. The officer told me that he has been trying to
convince victims not to get swayed by Pakistani propaganda,” Rahul had said at
the rally.
During probe, the Special Cell sleuths found that a top
Lashkar operative Javed Baluchi was in touch with two preachers of mosques –
Mohammad Shahid and Hafeez Rashidi – over phone. Baluchi had directed them to
take riot as an ample opportunity to recruit Muslim youths to carry out terror
strikes in India.
During investigation, police traced Shahid and Rashidi and
arrested them from Haryana's Mewat region in December.
Rashidi, during interrogation, told to police that he along
with other LeT member Abdul Subhan visited Muzaffarnagar with motive to recruit
riot victims.
“During interrogation, we found that Rashidi along with one
more LeT member (Abdul Subhan) went to Deoband and met Liaqat, 58, a resident
of Muzaffarnagar who is a government teacher,” said Special Commissioner of
Police (Special Cell) S.N. Srivastava adding that both stayed at the house of
Liaqat for few days.
Liaqat took the two to Thana Bahawan railway station in
Muzaffarnagar district, where he arranged their meeting with Zameer, another
resident of Muzaffarnagar, and left the place. Zameer is of criminal
background and he constructs mosques. Rashidi with Abdul Subhan had gone to
collect scriptures from Deoband for radicalising the riot victims to join LeT
membership.
The police in the meantime were keeping eye on activities of
Liaqat and Zameer, who belong to Muzaffarnagar but are not riot victims. When
they interrogated, they corroborated the statement of Rashidi told police that
they were approached but they rejected the offer to join terror group.
In the meantime, Rashidi with Abdul Subhan kept visiting
other riot areas and met several people before Rashidi was traced and nabbed.
“Abdul Subhan along with another five associates are on run and investigative
agencies are on look out of them,” said another police officer.
Keeping mum on radicalization of riots affected youths, the
police came up with new theory on Tuesday that when Zameer declined to join
terror outfit, the duo -- Rashidi with Abdul Subhan—convinced Zameer to kidnap
people to collect money for the construction of a mosque in the area.
ENDS
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