The banned terror outfit Indian Mujahideen is driven purely by its ideology rather than monetary gains. This has been claimed by the Delhi Police Special Cell that has arrested top ten IM operatives during the last two years.
Elaborating on the issue, Special Cell Commissioner S. N. Shrivastava said the lifestyles adopted by the alleged IM operatives are not ‘lavish’ but simple.
“Hawala money that these people receive is mostly used for logistical purposes. The personal belongings that we recovered from them at the time of their arrests were not expensive at all,” said Mr. Shrivastava.
According to him, the IM men used to receive cash consignments of Rs.2-3 lakh and they would spend it mostly on tickets for travel and other materials used to make improvised explosive devices. The only expensive items that they used were smart phones in order to connect to other accomplices through social networking applications.
“During interrogation they have mentioned that money is least important to them and they are driven by a set of ideologies,” Mr. Shrivastava said.
The information comes days after 27-year-old Aijaz Sheikh, an alleged IM operative, was arrested from Saharanpur Railway Station in Uttar Pradesh.
Sheikh is accused of sending e-mails on behalf of the IM and providing logistics to operatives in India. He also prepared fake IDs for the operatives to procure SIM cards, collect money transfers and obtain rooms on rent.
“Most of the IM operatives we have arrested so far carried a lot of provocative literature in their phones and laptops. Aijaz Sheikh too had similar content with him. Having a diploma in software studies, his main focus was on the technology part of the operations. But he did mention that he is deeply influenced by the group’s ideology,” Mr. Shrivastava further said.
