Suspected SIMI man,an Abrar aide,arrested: ATS

The ATS had arrested Abrar after an encounter in Aurangabad on March 26. Abrar was allegedly part of a terror module involved in a spate of bank robberies in Madhya Pradesh (MP) for terror funding. The ATS had also arrested another member of the group,Mohammed Shakir,who was injured in the encounter,while a third member,Khalil Qureshi,was killed in the operation.

The next morning,two other members of the group —Aqeel Khilji (45),allegedly SIMI’s chief in MP and Mohammed Zaffar Hussain Qureshi (32) — were arrested from Chikli in Buldhana.

The ATS said AnwarHussain narrowly evaded arrest and had fled from Aurangabad after the encounter on March 26. He was picked up from Indore on April 27 in a joint operation with the Madhya Pradesh ATS.

“We arrested Anwar Hussain from Indore a few days ago,and he has been remanded in our custody till May 9. He was an associate of Abrar and the other accused involved in the Aurangabad encounter and has been booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. Further investigations are on,” said Additional Director General of Police (ATS) Rakesh Maria.

ATS officers said Hussain is a resident of the Labriya Bheru area in Indore,and used to repair the suspension systems of heavy vehicles. He allegedly drove Abrar and three others to the city in his car. “Before the encounter began,Hussain had gone to a restroom nearby. When he heard gunfire and was alerted to our presence,he managed to evade arrest and leave the city,” said an ATS officer who did not wish to be named.

After group leader Abu Faisal was taken into custody in MP in 2011,he had told interrogators that some of his accomplices were operating in Maharashtra.