MP cops arrest 8 SIMI,IM suspects

Say three of those apprehended are wanted for their role in Ahmedabad blasts.

The Madhya Pradesh Police on Sunday claimed to have arrested eight members of the Indian Mujahideen IM and Students Islamic Movement of India SIMI,including three persons wanted for their role in the Ahmedabad blasts.

Four activists,including Shaikh Mujeeb wanted in connection with several terror cases,were taken into custody from a rented place in a building in Ahmednagar Mohalla near Raja Chowk in Jabalpur.

Teams of anti-terrorist squad zeroed in on the building early on Sunday and nabbed Shaikh,a resident of Gujarat; Aslam,a resident of Khandwa; Habib alias Shetty and Sajid alias Sheru,both residents of Ujjain.

DGP S K Raut said the four members of the outlawed organisations tried to open fire but the police foiled their attempt and avoided any casualties during the operation in the residential area.

They were either conspiring to kill an important person or planning a terror strike, said Raut but did not elaborate saying details will emerge only after interrogation.

The police said they had received a tip-off that a module of the IM was to board the Habibganj-bound Janshatabdi Express from Jabalpur railway station.

While one team of the ATS did a recce in Jabalpur to know the details of the four-member module,two teams waited at the Habibganj Railway Station in the state capital.

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Abu Faizal,a resident of Mumbai; Ikrar Shaikh,a resident of Ujjain; Mahboob alias Guddu,a resident of Khandwa; and Aijaz alias Riyaz,a resident of Kareli also in Madhya Pradesh were taken into custody while they were leaving the railway station.

Ikrar is a prominent office-bearer of the SIMI and was trying to reactivate the proscribed students organisation in MP and other states.

Mahboob was wanted in connection with the serial blasts in Ahmedabad,and also the main suspect in MP ATS constable Sitaram Yadavs murder in November 2009. A former office-bearer of SIMIs Khandwa unit he was absconding since Yadavs murder.

The DGP said the Sundays arrests followed a vigil maintained by the ATS as part of Operation Vijay for last several months.

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The June 3 encounter near Ratlam Railway Station that left one constable dead also resulted from the same operation.

The police claimed months of planning and the interrogation of Zakir Hussain and Mohammed Farhat Khan,who were arrested after the Ratlam incident,led them to the eight IM and SIMI activists.

The police recovered five pistols and 23 live rounds besides Rs 2 lakh,forged documents and SIMI literature from the eight persons held on Sunday.