MP criminal held after encounter
Officials of the Maharashtra ATS on Monday arrested a criminal from Madhya Pradesh who was wanted for his alleged involvement in the 2008 Ahmedabad bomb blasts, as well as the murder of two policemen. ATS officials said one of his associates was shot dead in an encounter, which also left a policeman injured.
Officials said the accused, Mohammed Abrar Khan alias Abrar Sheikh (32), has links with terror outfits Students’ Islamic Movement of India and Indian Mujahideen, and was plotting to assassinate the two judges who had delivered the verdict in the Babri Masjid case.
According to ATS sources, the encounter occurred in Himayat Baug in Aurangabad at around 12.30 pm. The ATS’ Aurangabad unit had received a tip-off that several members of a gang from MP would be in Himayat Baug.
“The ATS team, led by deputy commissioner of police Naveen Reddy and inspector Shiva Thakre, approached the three accused, who opened fire, injuring head constable Sheikh Arif Ismail in the left shoulder. The police returned fire, killing one of them, identified as Khalil Qureshi (20) and injuring another, Mohammed Shakir (32) in both thighs. Abrar was the third man, who was captured unhurt,” said Rakesh Maria, joint commissioner of police, ATS.
R.G. Shukla, additional director-general (intelligence), MP police, told The Asian Age, “The gang was planning to kill the judges who delivered the Babri Masjid verdict. We had told the Uttar Pradesh police this, and the UP high court had subsequently directed the UP police to provide protection to the judges.” Abrar is alleged to have killed ATS constables Sitaram Yadav and Manish Khushwa in Madhya Pradesh in 2009 and 2011 respectively. He is also wanted for attempting to murder a superintendent of police and political activists, as well as several armed dacoities.
“The gang was headed by Abu Faisal, who was arrested last year, after which the leadership passed on to Abrar. The gangs would divert the money earned in their robberies to terrorism. They had bought a house in Jamshedpur and were trying to set up a base when Faisal was arrested,” said an ATS official.
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