Maharashtra ATS seeks info on ex-SIMI men

The Maharashtra ATS had information that these men had played an important role in triggering off blasts in Gujarat in 2008.

The ATS sources said the arrested alleged SIMI men confessed to have visited some key operatives of their outfit in UP before 2008. They also told the ATS that they had visited active SIMI member Shahbaz Ahmed at his house in Maulviganj locality and also at his computer training centre at Aminabad market of Lucknow between 2005 and 2006.

Aqueel,who allegedly confessed to have attended several training camps organised by former national SIMI president Safdar Nagori and secretary Shibli in Madhya Pradesh,Karnataka and Kerala,had also met SIMI member Abu Bashar in Azamgarh district in 2007.

While Shahbaz is an accused in the case of serial blasts in Jaipur in 2008 and is presently lodged in a jail there,Bashar was arrested for his role in Gujarat blasts and is presently lodged in Ahmedebad jail.

The Maharashtra ATS has a;sp sought help of the UP counterparts in collecting details of some more SIMI men belonging to different districts of UP who had helped Aqueel,Khaleel,Jafar and Abrar by sending them money after the 2008 Gujarat blasts.

The sources said the Maharashtra ATS team will soon be taking Aqueel and Abrar to UP to identify the places where they had taken shelter after the blasts.