Lucknow siege: Uttar Pradesh top cop says no evidence linking ISIS and self-radicalised Saifullah
UP top cop has said that Saifullah was self radicalised and they were yet to find any evidence suggesting his links to ISIS.
Moments after the 11-hour long gruelling operation that saw the extermination of a suspected ISIS terror youth, Uttar Pradesh Police today said that there was no evidence linking the deceased Mohammed Saifullah to the infamous global terror outfit ISIS.
UP top cop has said that Saifullah was self radicalised and they were yet to find any evidence suggesting his links to ISIS. "We have no such evidence yet of any ISIS link," Additional Director General of Police (law and order) Daljit Chaudhary told media persons.
The police had earlier said that Saifullah and two others were arrested yesterday were allegedly affiliated to ISIS. The police found substantial literature in Urdu and English related to ISIS.
Earlier, sources have said that Saifullah and other suspects were linked to a home grown, self radicalised group inspired by ISIS owing allegiance to its elusive leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
According to sources, the six suspects nabbed in UP and MP were active on social media and were in regular touch with ISIS handlers.
HOW IT ALL HAPPENED:
On Tuesday, the Uttar Pradesh ATS carried out an extensive operation to capture Saifullah alive. However, the suspected terrorist was killed after a fierce gunbattle that ensued after ATS received a tip-off regarding the suspect's hideout. He was holed up at a house in Haji Ali colony in Thakurganj on the outskirts of Lucknow.
Uttar Pradesh Additional Director General of Police also said that they even made Saifullah speak to his brother in order to convince him to surrender.
The police even resorted to the use of chilli bombs and stun grenades to flush out the suspects. The standoff began hours after a blast on the Bhopal-Ujjain Express that left about 10 people injured. Saifullah was earlier linked to the Bhopal train blast too. Following the blast, the Madhya Pradesh police arrested three persons from Hoshangabad district.
WATCH | Lucknow: Father of suspected ISIS terrorist refuses to accept 'anti-national' son's body
Also read:
Lucknow encounter: Father of suspected ISIS terrorist says won't accept body of an anti-national
From Ujjain to Lucknow: Blow-by-blow account of how ISIS' Khurasan terror module was busted