Wasim tried to dissuade younger brother from jehad
Wasim Akram Malik and his younger brother Junaid Akram Malik had apparently tried hard to save each other from the path of jehad.
Wasim Akram Malik and his younger brother Junaid Akram Malik had apparently tried hard to save each other from the path of jehad.
Now, however, the elder brother is an arrested accused in the Delhi HC blast case and the younger one is absconding.
Investigators claim that Junaid has joined Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), the terror outfit.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is hot on the trail of Junaid and his associates, who are suspected to be key conspirators in the September 7 terror strike at the high court.
Investigators claim that once Wasim firmed up the plan to target the Delhi HC in June this year, he contacted his brother and sought a meeting with Junaid’s commander. “But Junaid didn’t agree to Wasim’s proposal. He told his brother to continue with his studies to become a doctor. Wasim told interrogators that he, however, remained adamant. Wasim argued that what Junaid was doing was insignificant; a big action was necessary,” said a source privy to Wasim’s interrogation details.
According to sources, Junaid ultimately relented and organised a meeting between Wasim with his HM associates.
“Junaid followed in the footsteps of his elder brother. Wasim told interrogators that he tried to dissuade his brother from jehadi activities. But Wasim’s initial brush with militancy in 2005 left an impression on his brother. So, when Junaid became old enough, he joined the ranks of HM in 2010. In fact, to a bid to save his brother, Wasim kept claiming that his brother was kidnapped by HM militants, in the initial interrogation,” disclosed an investigator.
Wasim also told interrogators that Junaid and his associates roped in two Pakistanis — Abu Bilal alias Ghulam Sarwar and Saifullah — to execute the plan.
Wasim planned to target the high court in July. But a letter from the principal of Wasim’s medical college in Bangladesh informing his parents about their son’s absence from the institution, threw a spanner in the work. His parents sent him back to Bangladesh.
“He came home for Eid in August and put his plan into motion again. A few meetings were held in a mosque in Kishtwar. Amir Abbas Dev, who gave a statement before a magistrate in this regard, attended one meeting. Bilal, Saifullah and an unknown Kashmiri left for Delhi on September 4 and executed Wasim’s plan,” said a source.