Ninth accused in police custody, cops study link to anonymous posters that came up in June’

Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Harpalsinh Rathod said they are yet to find links to any “outside mastermind” in the functioning of the self-styled group. “We have been trying to ascertain the involvement of people from outside, especially in connection to funding for the group… we are now convinced that it was through social media that men sharing a similar mindset joined the network, which fanned across the state… their common goal was to ‘rescue’ women from their religion from going ‘astray’ to other faiths… In some cases, we have come across the group aborting its plan of assault after realising that the woman they were following was in the company of a man from their own religion,” he added.

Rathod said, “We are analysing the CDR. There were 610 members in the last WhatsApp group… As required, the members are being summoned. So far, we have only come across male members in the group… Though some cellphone numbers were registered in the name of women, they were being used by men…”

The DCB, which has in custody five other accused arrested on August 30, has said that no victim has come forward to file complaints. “No victim has come forward because of social stigma surrounding the fact that their daughters were found in someone’s company and also because they are concerned about the honour of their families,” Rathod said.
Further, the police are working on establishing the link between the nine accused arrested so far to anonymous posters that had come up in minority dominated areas of the city in June, warning parents to “teach religious values” to their daughters “to keep them from going astray”.

“We have found some links and we are working on tying loose ends, in regard to the posters… As we probe the list of 610 people, most of whom we are questioning, some more people may be arrested,” Rathod said.
On August 28, the Gotri police station had arrested Mustaqim Imtiyaz Shaikh, Burhanbaba Nanumiya Saiyyed and Sahil Shaikh — alleged to be the masterminds so far. On August 31, five others — Aquib Ali Mehboob Saiyyed, Mohsin Pathan, Noman Abdul Rashid, Abrar Khan Sindhi and Moin Ibrahim Shaikh — were arrested.
While those arrested on August 28 have been remanded to judicial custody at the end of their police remand, the five others will be produced before the court on Tuesday when their police custody ends.