Cops zero in on ‘SIMI members’ who fled from MP jail a year ago

Another fugitive, Zakir Hussain alias Sadiq Badrul Hussain, was also suspected to be present at the Bijnor house, but his role in the Pune blast is not yet known.

All five suspects, along with one Abu Faisal alias Doctor, are alleged SIMI operatives who had fled from the Khandwa jail in MP in October last year. All of them are apparently involved in murder and terror cases. Faizal, who landed in police net again in December, was suspected to be the mastermind behind the sensational jailbreak.

From the investigation so far, sources said, it was suspected that Aizazuddin, Mehboob, Aslam and Amzad were involved in the Faraskhana parking blast in which five persons were injured. “The possibility of Zakir being involved in the terror act cannot be ruled out,” said an officer.

After fleeing from jail, said the investigators, the suspects resumed their terror activities and might have got help from members of terror groups like Indian Mujahideen. It may be recalled that IM had planned to bomb the Dagdusheth temple in Pune on February 13, 2010, the day it attacked the German Bakery, killing 17 persons.

The investigators said the “SIMI group” was assembling a bomb in the house that they had taken on rent in Bijnor when it exploded. The local police got to know from neighbours that suspect Mehboob alias Guddu sustained serious injuries in the incident. According to the police, Guddu, who had passed his HSC, had worked in a tailoring shop in Amravati in Maharashtra for some time in the past.

All five “SIMI operatives” had fled from the house before police could reach them. But CCTV cameras installed in the area had captured the images of these suspects. The police said the image of one of the suspects matched with that of the person captured by a CCTV camera in Pune on the day of blast.

Investigating agencies, including the Maharashtra ATS, have intensified search for the five suspects who may be hiding in UP or in other states.

‘Used L-joint of plumbing pipes in assembly of bomb that exploded in UP’

Police have recovered fake voter ID cards, a huge stock of matchsticks, explosive material, a half-assembled bomb, an L-joint of plumbing pipes, a 0.32 bore pistol, a laptop, Urdu books and other items from the Bijnor house in UP. The police suspect they were trying to assemble the bomb using the L-joint of plumbing pipes. Investigation is on to know whether similar explosive material was used for the Faraskhana parking blast. An improvised explosive device (IED) was planted in a motorcycle that the suspects left at the police station parking in the morning hours of July 10. The bomb exploded around 2 pm. The motorcycle was stolen from Satara district on June 25. It belonged to a policeman, Dada Rajge, attached to the Satara police.