CBI court sentences SIMI mastermind Safdar Nagori to life: All you need to know

A CBI Court in Indore on Monday sentenced Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) leader Safdar Nagori and 11 others to life imprisonment for possessing explosives and ammunition and plotting terror activities.

#FLASH SIMI mastermind Safdar Nagori & 11 accused, awarded lifetime imprisonment by Indore District Court pic.twitter.com/8kZqmwt5WP

— ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2017

Nagori, who was the leader of the militant wing of the banned Islamic outfit, had been arrested in 2008 in connection to the case.

Here is an all you need to know about Nagori:

Early life

According to a report on NDTV , Nagori’s family is in the transport business. Nagori’s father Gahiruddhin Nagori had retired as an assistant sub-inspector in the Ujjain Police, a report in DNA said. The report also added that Nagori was not a radical during his student days and had in fact been a merit-holder, completing his masters in journalism from Vikram University.

However, the report said that the demolition of Babri Masjid and the consequent rioting across the country radicalised Nagori.

Chose the path of militancy Nagori, who had been a member of Simi since 1993, chose to continue the path of violent jihad, at the time when many other member chose to renounce violence and focus on religious and academic activities.

Remained underground after 2001

After falling out with other members of the banned Islamic outfit in 2001, Nagori went underground. NDTV reported that he had been in Mumbai and Delhi before settling in West Bengal’s Murshidabad for five years where he is alleged to have developed a strong terror network.

Arrested in 2008

Nagori, along with his brother Kamruddin and several other key operatives of Simi — prominent among them the mastermind of the 2006 Mumbai train serial blasts Shibly Peedicaal Abdul — were arrested by the Special Task Force of the Madhya Pradesh Police in March 2008. The police later exposed a training camp in Madhya Pradesh’s Choral, where it found 122 super-explosive gelatine sticks, 100 detonators and switchboards buried underground, The Times of India reported.

Nagori spills the beans After his arrest, Nagori in his confession statement gave vivid details of Simi’s rise as a militant outfit. He had said that the outfit had about 400 active members and 20000 ordinary supporters. Claiming that his fighters received training in Jammu and Kashmir alongside the Hizbul Mujaheedin, Nagori added they were trained in conducting different kinds of terror operations across the country. Nagori had also pressed for inclusion of more women into the ranks of the outfit.

Sabaramati jailbreak attempt On 11 February 2013, the Sabarmati Jail authorities unearthed a 213-feet long tunnel to smuggle the 24 under trails of the Ahmedabad blast case, including Nagori. In May that year, he was also chargesheeted in the case. It is to be noted that Nagori has been lodged in this jail ever since his name cropped up during the investigation into the 2008 serial blasts.

Accused in many terror cases

Nagori was later tried in Karnataka for his association with Simi. However, he was acquitted by a Hubli court in January 2015. Nevertheless, he was not set free as he was also an accused in the 2007 Wagamon terror camp case, The Indian Express said. Additionally, Nagori is also key accused in the 2008 Ahmedabad blasts case.

(With inputs from agencies)