Author: Vinay Krishna Rastogi
Publication: Mid-Day
Date: May 6, 2002
URL: http://midday.chalomumbai.com/05-06-2002/city/05-06-2002arrested.txt.htm
Secretary of the banned Students
Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) Noman Badra who was arrested here yesterday
admitted, after a night long grilling, the involvement of SIMI in the Godhra
incident in which six coaches of Sabarmati Express were torched.
Badra revealed to the sleuths of
the Special Task Force that he is officiating on behalf of the State President
of SIMI Shahid Badra Falahi who is currently languishing in Tihar jail,
New Delhi.
He also admitted that many activists
of the organisation are involved in distributing inflammable pro-Pakistani
and anti-national literature. Badra admitted that he had been given responsibility
to spread communal disturbance in Uttar Pradesh.
A letter written by Falahi from
Tihar jail was also recovered from a hideout in Lucknow following grilling.
Sleuths said Badra was caught while
inciting Muslims against the Godhra incident in minority dominated areas
of Lucknow. It is learnt that he arrived in Lucknow with several cartons
of objectionable literature by a summer special train from Kurla in Mumbai.
However, the Mumbai police are not
aware of his links with Mumbai. According to M N Singh, police commissioner
of Mumbai, "We have not been intimated about this. We have no information
about the person's arrest or his links with Mumbai".
Intelligence sleuths are expected
to raid many places in UP following information revealed by him.
