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Aqil who planted bomb on 'Sabarmati' is a SIMI member

Aqil who planted bomb on 'Sabarmati' is a SIMI member

Author:
Publication: The Free Press Journal
Date: September 12, 2000

Mohammad Aqil (23), who was arrested in Agra for planting a high-power bomb in the Sabarmati Express which caused a big explosion on August 14 that killed 10 persons and left 65 injured, is an ISI agent and an active member of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), according to intelligence sources.

The lad would be brought to Lucknow for further grilling by Intelligence Bureau (IB) sleuths. It took the security forces almost a month to nab the person responsible for the blood-curdling tragedy on Sabarmati Express while the train was hurtling towards Lucknow after leaving Faizabad. According to Home Department sources, Aqil's elder brother Jameel Ahmad is also an active member of SIMI. Aqil has confessed before sleuths that he planted a four-kg bomb on the instructions of a fellow activist Gulzar. He is a former student of the Aligarh Muslim University. STF sources said that ISI had used the accused as a bomb carrier and on August 14 he carried a 4-kg timer device in a school bag and placed it in the ill-fated bogey of the train. Akil is a resident of Faizabad. He had taken admission in the Unani Medicine section of Tibbia College in Aligarh Muslim University in 1997.

The accused confessed that bomb blasts in different parts of the state were triggered off by, ISI and Paksupported outfits like Hijbul Mujahideen and, Lashkar-e-Toiba. The security forces are also investigating whether Akil had a hand in the bomb blast in which the President of the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust Mahant Ram Chandra Das Paramhans was injured.

Meanwhile, in a complaint to the state government the Aligarh Muslim University authorities have sharply reacted to the insinuations that there are training camps Within the university.

Distancing themselves from the activities of Aqil the authorities have stated in their complaint that the alleged activities of one or more individuals who studied or are studying in the university does not in any way reflect adversely on the university. The insinuation is calculated to sow seeds of distrust among the public. The AMU is an institution of national importance which has over 25,000 students from all over the country and is freely accessible to public at large.

Meanwhile, in Kanpur sleuths of the Special Task Force (STF), the crack force of the UP Police arrested more SIMI activists. The arrest sparked off widespread protests in Muslim dominated pockets. Students forced closure of institutions specifically demanding release of arrested SIMI leader Mohammad Asad allegedly responsible for the Kanpur blasts. According to STF Sources here, Asad is a prize catch but they declined to elaborate further.

State president of Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) Mohammad Amir and Deputy chief of the organisation Safdar Nagauri condemned the BJP government for hatching a conspiracy to defame the Muslims.

The STF is worried over the statement of Mohammad Amir that noted international terrorist Osma Bin Laden was the ideal of Muslims the world over and Muslims of the country should follow him. The state unit of Shiv Sena and Bajrang Dal have demanded that criminal cases be registered against Asad.

It is learnt that SIMI leaders are advocating plebiscite in J&K and forcible construction of Babri Masjid. The state government is planning to ban SIMI. But it has floated a new organization Tahreek Ahyay-e-Ummat so that its activities could be carried on even after the ban. SIMI was formed in Aligarh Muslim University in 1970 as the student wing of the Jamat-I-Islami Later the Jamat dissociated itself with SIMI. And floated the Islamic Students Organisation.

At present SIMI has more than 5000 members in the state. It has recently recruited many girls.
 


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