ATS suspects Faizan behind sleeper modules in UP, outside state

The UP Anti Terror Squad (ATS) suspects that a key terror operative, Faizan who is on the run, prepared several sleeper modules and placed them at different locations in west UP and outside the state to carry out terrorist activities.

This ATS view stems from its interrogation of suspected Bangladeshi terrorist Abdullah Al Mammun who was arrested from Muzaffarnagar late on Saturday. Abdullah is a suspected member of the Al Qaeda-inspired banned Bangladeshi Islamic extremist group Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT).

A senior ATS official said Abdullah’s arrest revealed that he got fake identity cards and an Indian passport with the help of Faizan.

Faizan escaped before the ATS reached his Saharanpur house last week.

The official said Abdullah confessed that Faizan, who has good computer skills, used to prepare fake identity cards for hundreds of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.

He said Faizan helped the illegal immigrants get houses in slums and arranged jobs for them.

He also said Faizan prepared a complete data bank of these illegal immigrants and used to remain in touch with them.

“Faizan sometimes gave tasks to some immigrants and handed out cash rewards for doing the job successfully,” he said.

“All this suggests that Faizan prepared a wide network of sleeper modules by placing illegal immigrants in different cities,” the officials said.

He said the ATS sleuths were trying to prepare a sketch of Faizan with the help of details revealed by the arrested man. Moreover, the sleuths were also trying to track the terror network in Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur and other cities of west UP, he said.

Earlier, Abdullah was arrested from the Kuteshara area of Muzaffarnagar district in western Uttar Pradesh on August 5 night.

The ATS team arrested Abdullah from a place of worship in Charthwal, where he is said to have been working as a preacher.

The sleuths recovered 13 fake identity cards, a passport prepared on a fake identity proof, and seals of village pradhan, tehsildar, election officer and village development officer from his possession.

Abdullah was a resident of Momin Shahi district in Bangladesh.

He had, however, told the locals that he belonged to Assam and had got a local agent to make a fake Aadhaar card and passport for him.

Before moving to Muzaffarnagar, Abdullah had been living in the Ambehat Sheikh area of Deoband in Saharanpur since 2011.