BHOPAL/PATNA: The inter-state module of radicalised people—which could have been potential lone-wolf attackers—busted by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the Madhya Pradesh Police on Friday appears to be bigger than what was earlier thought.
While further arrests were made from Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district and Rajasthan’s Alwar district, one more arrest was made in Bihar’s Madhubani on Monday, taking the number of the arrested to four.
The Madhya Pradesh and Bihar police arrested Izhar-ul-Haq, 65, who works as a teacher in a local madarsa, in a joint operation. The police are probing his role in the regrouping of a sleeper cell of the banned outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
His arrest may turn out to be the most important link in the lone-wolf attack case. Pankaj Kumar Darad, ADG of the Bihar ATS said that preliminary investigation and technical evidence indicated that Haq had connections with a Pakistan-based handler. The ATS recovered two Android mobile phones from his possession. Police are verifying his digital footprints.
The Madhya Pradesh ATS said that Haq was perhaps the head of the module, which comprised men from various parts of the country, who had been radicalised and were being motivated to turn into lone-wolf attackers.
According to sources, he was designated the amir, or the leader and commander of the module, whose job was to scout, radicalise and guide the recruits turn into lone-wolf attackers to strike chosen targets. Sources in the Madhya Pradesh Police said that Haq was in direct contact with overseas handlers.
A senior police official said, “A local court in Madhubani in Bihar has approved a 72-hours transit remand for taking Haq to Madhya Pradesh. The questioning of Haq along with three other men arrested from Bhopal, Saharanpur and Alwar will help us unravel the module, which working on highly destructive designs.”
The attackers’ module was busted by the Madhya Pradesh ATS, following inputs from Central intel agencies on June 12, with the arrest of Bhopal-based Mohammed Faraz, 35, who worked at a homeopathy clinic in old city’s Qazi Camp area.
A day later, the ATS sleuths arrested 38-years-old Naeem Abudullah Qureshi from Nanauta area Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district. Qureshi had studied with Faraz at a madrasa in Deoband in Saharanpur and inducted him into the module.
Faraz was given the name of slain Pakistani terrorist Khalid Saifullah to operate as a killer. Saifullah was the alleged mastermind of IISC (Bengaluri), RSS HQ (Nagpur) and CRPF camp (Rampur) blasts.