Three Pakistani LeT militants arrested by the special task force of the UP police in Lucknow on Sunday.
— PTI photo |
Lucknow, February 10
The Special Task Force (STF) of the state police today arrested six alleged Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terrorists, four of whom are said to be involved in the attack on the CRPF Group Centre at Rampur on the dawn of the New Year in which seven CRPF jawans and a civilian were killed.
Those arrested today from Rampur and Lucknow are suspected to be behind the fidayeen attack at the Indian Institute of Science during an international seminar on December 27 in which a professor emeritus in the Mathematics Department of Delhi’s Indian Institute of Technology was killed and four equally eminent scientist were injured.
Addressing a press conference, DGP Vikram Singh claimed that the alleged terrorists were arrested just before they were planning to leave Uttar Pradesh via New Delhi and Agra for Mumbai in two different batches. Their next target was possibly the Church Gate and or the Bombay Stock Exchange in Maharashtra’s already trouble-torn capital. No VVIP was on their hit list, claimed the DGP.
The three were arrested around 12.15 pm from Rampur. One of the arrested Fahim Ahmad Ansari is known by seven more names, including Abu Jarar. He is a resident of Rawalpindi in Pakistan. A resident of Rampur, Mohammad Sharif, also has four more assumed names. Jung Bahadur, the third person picked up from Rampur, is also known as Khan Bahadur and belongs to Rampur.
Those picked up from near the private cabstand outside the Charbagh Railway station at 6 am today included Sahabuddin Ahmad, alias Abu Qasim, originally from Madhubani in Bihar. He has four more pseudonyms. Amar Singh, alias Abu Jaar, originally from Gujranwala in Pakistan as well as Abu Sama from PoK were picked up in Lucknow. Abu Sama was also known by five more names.
Their having so many parallel identities is a serious matter requiring in-depth investigation as they may be implicated in other crimes as well hinted the DGP Vikram Singh.
Except for Jung Bahadur, all had received trained in handling weapons and explosives and intelligence gathering in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), state DGP Vikram Singh said here.
However, it was Jung Bahadur who reportedly carried out a recce of the CRPF camp in Rampur several times before the final attack on the New Year morning by Abu Sama in which he was given a cover by Abu Jaar, informed the DGP. Besides three Pakistani passports, the STF has recovered two AK series rifles, loaded magazines, five hand grenades, one Pakistan Ordinance Factory made .30 cal pistol and two railway tickets for Mumbai from New Delhi and Agra.
