AZAMGARH: Intelligence agencies are weighing inputs indicating the radical elements within the proscribed Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) are forging links with similarly minded groups within the recently banned Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) and may lead to the birth of a new radical outfit.
Such inputs, described by sources as “very disturbing”, have been pouring in for more than a month ever since the Centre banned IRF led by controversial Islamic preacher Dr Zakir Naik. The Intelligence Bureau (IB) is likely to issue a note to state intel agencies regarding these developments shortly.
Top sources disclosed to New Indian Express that over the past couple of months, person-to-person contact and group interactions between members of the banned groups have been taking place lately. ''Similar inputs have been coming from certain areas that are known to be breeding grounds for militants in different states. Some political parties, which used to sympathise with SIMI, are now sympathising with IRF too,'' said one senior official.
While IRF, an NGO run by Salafist preacher Zakir Naik, was banned for five years in November 2016, SIMI was 16 years ago and still has a large number of supporters. Sources in the intelligence agencies say they consider SIMI as a ''very active'' group despite the ban.
Formed in Aligarh in April 1977 with Muhammed Ahmadullah Siddiqui as its founding president, SIMI started with the mission of liberating India from Western materiali and cultural influences, it main objective being to ensure that Muslims live according to the Muslim code of conduct.
Though SIMI members attending the taqreer (speeches) of Dr Zakir Naik is nothing new, intelligence sources say there is electronic evidence of increasing interaction between members of these two groups, especially since the IRF ban.
Interestingly, just days after IRF was banned, the Kerala-based Islamic fundamentalist organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) organised massive rallies in different parts of the country in support of Zakir Naik. A majority of PFI members are actually from SIMI. “Since SIMI is banned, the members work in different outfits. But SIMI is alive and kicking,'' said a senior official.
Sources said inputs indicate that these radical interactions could lead to the formation of a new radical outfit similar to Indian Mujahideen (IM) which was involved in a series of bomb blasts across the country since it was founded by Abdus Subhan Qureshi in 2010.
Indian Mujahideen mostly comprised of lower-tier SIMI members. The change in name was widely seen as a change in tactics by SIMI members. Till date, while senior SIMI leaders are still available, there are minimal inputs about the cadres.
“The same tactic is being used again. Only this time, SIMI has IRF to look to. IRF has dedicated members across the length and breadth of the country, which will come in handy and this is enough for extremist elements in both groups to form a new group and continue with their subversive activities,'' another official said.