Key suspect in 2008 Gujarat blasts : ATS to seek custody of wanted ‘IM operative’ arrested in Delhi

The family contested the agencies’ claims that Qureshi was into terror activities. “He used to teach kids. While the police claim that he was into terror activities, I don’t think so. On a regular basis, teams from ATS, NIA and other agencies have visited our home and enquired about him but we have no contact with him,” added Subhan. No agency visited them in recent months, said the family.

In all, there are four cases in Maharashtra in which Qureshi is named — two registered by the ATS and two by the Mumbai Police. “The two cases probed by the ATS are under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the trials in these cases are under way. He is a wanted accused in these cases and would now face trial. The two cases registered by Mumbai Police include one registered in 1995 where he allegedly participated in an unlawful gathering in Kurla in central Mumbai called by SIMI, and another case registered in 2001 where he was booked under the Maharashtra Prevention of Disruptive Activities (MPDA) Act. In the said case, he was convicted and fined Rs 200,” said an ATS official.

Qureshi (46), an engineer, had acquired a degree in industrial electronics, and subsequently specialised in software maintenance. He grew up in the Muslim ghetto of Cheeta Camp in Govandi, suburban Mumbai. Qureshi was allegedly drawn into the SIMI fold by his neighbour Sadique Sheikh, a key member of IM, a home grown terror module that the security agencies claim was responsible for several blasts in India after 2005.

“The demolition of Babri Masjid and the subsequent riots helped SIMI rope in many vulnerable youth to its fold. Qureshi was one of them. By 1998, he became a committed SIMI member,” said a former ATS official who closely tracked Qureshi’s movements. He was reportedly a trusted member of arrested SIMI chief Safdar Nagori and grew to become No. 2 of the outfit, also moving around with Nagori looking for potential recruits. Qureshi’s last public appearance was in 2001 at a press conference in Uttar Pradesh where he spoke in the capacity of a professor.

While Qureshi was booked twice in the past by the Mumbai Police for being a member of SIMI and was arrested and convicted under the MPDA, he came under the Maharashtra ATS scanner during the probe of the 2006 Mumbai train blasts.

Ethesham Siddique, one of the alleged planters arrested in the train blasts case, had allegedly revealed Qureshi’s name saying he was member of a sleeper cell. Qureshi and Ethesham stayed in Mira Road area and were acquainted. Ehtesham referred to him as ‘Tauqeer’, a name that he came to be known by. Qureshi had been picked up but was let off for want of evidence.