Activists on terror trail visit Azamgarh

They reached Sanjarpur Township in the morning and visited the house of September 13,2008 Delhi blast accused Mohammad Saif and his elder brother Dr Shahnawaj.

Saif was the only alleged IM operative caught during the Batla House encounter on September 19,2008. Shahnawaj is absconding since Saif’s arrest and carries a reward of Rs 1 lakh by the Delhi Police.

Saif’s father Mohammad Shadab told The Indian Express,“They (Tayler and Ganguly) visited our house and noted down detailed information about the education of Saif and Shahnawaj.”

He added,“The women also inquired about the whereabouts of my sons during the period the police claimed they were engaged in terror activities.”

Shadab said they also visited the relatives of nearly 10 other accused in different blast cases and collected details from the relatives of Atif and Sajid,who were killed in the Batla House encounter.

The two scholars also visited the ex-president of the banned organisation — Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) — Dr Shahid Badr. They inquired Badr about the reasons behind the government banning SIMI and the details of his arrest and the release from the jail.

Badr said,“Tayler and Meenakshi visited me in the evening and inquired about the history of SIMI and the status of the case pending with the Supreme Court regarding the ban on the organisation.”

“They also discussed if imposing the ban was a violation of human rights. During my tenure as SIMI’s president,I was arrested in Delhi on September 27,2001 and was released on bail on April 7,2004,” Badr said.

SIMI was banned by the Centre in 2002 for its alleged involvement in the terror activities. In August 2008,a special tribunal had lifted the ban on SIMI,but the ban was subsequently reinstated by the Supreme Court on August 6.

Badr said the tribunal order has been stayed by the apex court and the matter is pending.