13 SIMI activists nabbed in Indore

Bhopal, Mar 27: As many as 13 notorious activists of banned radical outfit- Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), allegedly having links with Lashkar-e-Toiba and Al-Qaida modules, were arrested from Shyampur Colony in Indore on Thursday morning. Safdar Nagori, a national general secretary of SIMI, was among those arrested during the raids.

Other three important leaders who were active in different states- Qamruddin, Amir Pervez and Hafiz Hussain and their eight supporters were also nabbed. IG Indore Range Anil Kumar informed media persons it was a major achievement for Madhya Pradesh police that several members of SIMI activists from different states were arrested in the state. He stated that a haul of objectionable documents on papers and in computers has been seized. These documents are being examined for further course of action. Kumar said, “We are still investigating on which strategy these leaders were working in Indore.”

The police have registered cases relating to inciting communal sentiments and involvement in treachery. These arrested SIMI leaders included unit heads of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra states. Meanwhile Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also termed this success as a major breakthrough and reiterated that the outfit has been banned in the past and would not be allowed to spread communal feelings at any cost. SIMI general secretary Safdar Nagori, a mastermind was reportedly involved in recruiting professionals from engineering and the IT sector and having links with a terror plot involving the Al-Qaida targeting foreign tourists in Goa. Son of a retired assistant sub-inspector of police, Nagori had been absconding since the ban was imposed on SIMI on September 27, 2001.

According to police sources, Nagori had connections to the Lashkar-e-Toiba. Intelligence agencies alleged that SIMI was involved in the serial bomb blasts on Mumbai's rail network that killed over 180 commuters in July 2007. Besides, Shibli, organizational in charge of South India and Hafiz Hussain, Karnataka in charge along with Qamruddin, in charge of Andhra Pradesh were also arrested with Nagori. Seven pistols, other weapons, computer and objectionable documents were recovered from their possession, police added.