Police remand of Kashmiri students extended by 4 days

SHAHID QAYOOM AND FAZIL BASHIR, ALLEGEDLY ASSOCIATED WITH VALLEYBASED TERRORIST OUTFIT, THREW GRENADES AT THE POLICE STATION ON SEPTEMBER 14

JALANDHAR : A court on Thursday extended the police remand of Maqsudan police station blast case accused by four days.

Police arrested two Kashmiri students, Shahid Qayoom, 22, and Fazil Bashir, 23, allegedly associated with Ansar Ghazwat-ulHind (AGH) — a Valley-based terrorist outfit with links to Jaish-eMohammed — for throwing four low-intensity grenades at the Maqsudan police station on September 14.

The AGH is headed by Zakir Rashid Bhatt alias Zakir Mussa, who masterminded the attacks, police said. Faizal was arrested by Punjab Police from Awantipora in Kashmir on November 3 and Shahid was arrested from Jalandhar on November 4.

A first information report (FIR) under Sections 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Explosives Act was registered against them at Jalandhar division number 1 police station.

Earlier, the accused were produced in the court on Monday and were remanded to four-day police custody. Apart from Shahid and Fazil, Mir Ravoof Ahmed alias Rouf and Mir Umar Ramzan alias Gazi were also involved in the act. Rouf and Gazi are absconding, police said.

Police said it is the second such case of arrest of Kashmiri students linked with AGH in the state.

In October, police had arrested three Kashmiri students from the hostel of another engineering college in Jalandhar.

The police said AGH’s recruiter Amir of Dada Sara Tral in Kashmir contacted Shahid and Fazil when they were in the Valley. He reportedly radicalised them and also exhorted the students to work for the terror outfit.

Police said Rouf and Gazi travelled to Jalandhar by bus where they met Shahid and Fazil around Maqsudan Chowk, located near the Maqsudan police station.