Author: Times News Network
Publication: The Times of India
Date: February 1, 2003
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/comp/articleshow?artid=36104464
Four Dursgah Jehad-o-Shahadat (DJS)
activists involved in the killing of nine persons were arrested by the
Rangareddy district police on Thursday. The fifth member of the gang is
still at large.
The accused were also allegedly
involved in a series of robberies in the district and in Hyderabad.
Addressing a press conference on
Friday, Rangareddy superintendent of police M V Ramachandra Raju said the
five- member gang was led by Mohd. Imtiaz, 25, a lorry driver who is still
at large. The other four are Mohd Jaffer Khan, 24, Akber, 21, Mukhtar,
20 and Khalid, 25, he said. Explaining their modus operandi, Raju said
they used to pick up people from bus stands by offering them lifts or forcibly
dragging them.
They then took the victims to secluded
places in an Ambassador car and slit their throats, he said. Police suspect
that the killers might have had motives other than monetary gain. Pointing
out that the killings took place after the Godhra incident in Gujarat,
Raju said they used to ask the victims their names to identify their community
before killing them. In an incident, the gang undressed a victim to ascertain
his religion, he said. Ramachandra Raju said the gang's motive might have
been revenge as its members were activists of DJS which stands for 'martyrdom
of holy war' and imparts martial training to their members. The DJS has
more than six branches in the city.
