UP ATS busts Al Qaeda linked module in Lko
LUCKNOW : After the arrest of two alleged operatives of an Al Qaeda linked terror module from Lucknow, the UP Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Sunday claimed to have foiled their plans to carry out serial blasts with the help of improvised electronic devices (IED) and human bombs in the state capital as well as other parts of the state.
UP Police additional director general (law and order) Pra- shant Kumar said the two arrested accused were identified as Meenhaz Ahmad, resident of Zehta Barawan Kala on Dubagga bypass road under the Kakori police station limits, and Maseerudeen alias Musheer of Mohbillapur locality on Sitapur Road under Madiaon police station limits, both in Lucknow.
He said they were associated with Al Qaeda linked Ansar Gazwatul Hind and the two arrested accused, along with one of their accomplices Shakeel, were planning to carry out blasts at crowded places and important installations before Independence Day (August 15).
The ADG said this local module was prepared under the flagship of Al Qaeda Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) organisation. He said the arrested persons’ handler was Umar Halmandi who operates terror activities from his hideout on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
The ADG said the ATS teams carried out searches at different locations in Lucknow as some more members of this module escaped before the arrest of two accused. He also said some more people of Lucknow and Kanpur were suspected to be linked with them and efforts were on to find them. Later, one suspect was taken into custody from the Chamanganj area in Kanpur.
Another senior police official privy to the investigation said Meenhaz Ahmad’s father Siraj Ahmad runs a motor workshop on Dubagga bypass in front of his house where they have been living for the past 15 years. Meenhaz earlier worked as lab technician at a technical institute
THE TWO ALLEGED OPERATIVES OF AN AL QAEDA-LINKED TERROR MODULE WERE PLANNING SERIAL BLASTS IN LUCKNOW, AS WELL AS OTHER PARTS OF UP, BEFORE AUGUST 15
but quit the job few years ago and started running a battery shop near his father’s motor workshop.
He said the house and the workshop of Siraj Ahmad, as well as two more houses in the same locality, were searched thoroughly. At least two more people have been detained for interrogation while two more suspects left the house before the ATS team raided there.
He said the ATS seized two semi- prepared IED-based pressure cooker bombs and explosive materials, as well as a pistol, during the search.
The official said the ATS team carried out searches at the motor workshop-cum- house of Meenhaz Ahmad’s father at Sita Bihar colony of Zehta Barawan Kala on Dubagga bypass for around six hours and recovered several incriminating evidences of terror activities being planned. He said the premises have been sealed and local
police personnel have been deployed there after the search. ATS team also recovered a car having the pass of a technical university in Lucknow, he said.
The ATS carried out the search for nearly seven hours at Siraj’s workshop and his house. The nearby houses were also vacated, apprehending the presence of more terror suspects. The house and the workshop were sealed after recovering explosives and other objectionable items from there. The ATS was spotted carrying two suitcases while coming out of the house.
Meanwhile, security has been beefed up at all vital installations in the state, including airports. Checking at highways and bus stations has been intensified.