'Underworld hood, not im operative'

Home ministry sources clear the air on man arrested from Azamgarh in UP on Saturday

Home ministry sources clear the air on man arrested from Azamgarh in UP on Saturday

Amidst unconfirmed reports that an Indian Mujahideen operative was arrested from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh recently, sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs said that the man who was caught was allegedly an active member of the underworld and that he was caught on the basis of intercepts which hinted that he was in touch with some operatives of a terrorist organisation - most probably Lashkar-e-Toeba.

Sources said that on December 11, a team of UP ATS (anti-terrorist squad) had raided Azamgarh and arrested a man whose identity, however, hasn't been disclosed yet due to investigation reasons.
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"From electronic surveillance, it was discovered that he was constantly in touch over the phone with a few terrorist organisations and on the basis of this we detained him. He has contacts in the underworld and is being interrogated by us to know more about his nexus," sources in the UP police said.

Even though senior police officers didn't confirm the arrest, sources said that the person was booked under relevant sections and was also taken into custody.

Police sources said that this catch could yield important information about alleged links between the underworld and militants. "We are quizzing him to know some vital things and are investigating the matter further," a source stated.

Reports suggest that till now there is nothing to substantiate that he is associated with the Indian Mujahideen and a probe is being carried out. Since the Varanasi blast, cops across the country have mobilised their network and are on a manhunt to catch IM operatives who are active.

Watch out for them

List of IM absconders from Karnataka:
' Riyaz Bhatkal alias Ahmed alias Chota Bhai
' Iqbal Bhatkal alias Mohammed alias Bada Bhai
' Ahmed Yasin alias Mohammed Ahmed Siddi Bapa alias Shahrukh
' Mudassir Yasin alias Saif

List of IM absconders from Gujarat
' Mujeeb
' Alamzeb Afridi alias Chikna

List of IM absconders from JharkHand
' Danish
' Manzar Imamuddin Khan

List of JIAM (Jam-I-yyathul Ansarul Muslimeen) absconders from Kerala
' KP Sabir alias Pochu Peedikayil alias Ayub
' Mohammed Azhar
' PP Yusuf
' Shafiq
' Raisal PA
' Mohammed Shabir Fabnest

List of JIAM absconders from Karnataka
' Mohammed Hussain Farhan
' Maulana Sultan Shah
' Azam
' Jasim
' Samir Salim Khan
' Wasimu00a0u00a0u00a0

List of IM absconders from Uttar Pradesh
' Ariz Khan alias Junaid
' Mirza Shahdab Baig
' Mohammed Sajid alias Sajid Bada
' Mohammed Khalid
' Shahnawaz Alam
' Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi
' Abu Rashid
' Sharfuddin

List of IM absconders from Maharashtra
' Abdus Subhan Usman Qureshi alias Kasin alias Zakir
' Abu Faisal alias Farhanu00a0
' Mohsin Chaudhary

After them !

Meanwhile, in a major crackdown on absconding terrorists, the Centre has formed special teams to nab 31 most wanted militants, including 19 Indian Mujahideen men, whose list has been circulated to all states and Union Territories. Sources in the home ministry said these special teams will make "concerted efforts" to apprehend the absconding IM and Jam-Iyyat ul Ansar Ul Muslimeen (JIAM) terrorists within the country and coordinate with foreign countries where they are suspected to be holed up. The Union Home Ministry has prepared a complete set of documents on the 31 absconding terrorists. The detailed dossiers about the IM and JIAM militants along with photographs have also been shared with a few Gulf countries as intelligence inputs suggest that some of them were currently based there with their Pakistani passports. The Home Ministry dispatched the particulars of the terrorists to the states and advised them to be alert and look for them as some of them could be hiding anywhere in India.