BHOPAL: One of the four men arrested on Saturday for allegedly spreading fake messages to incite communal tensions is a member of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), and “connected” to Pakistani nationals, Madhya Pradesh home minister Narottam Mishra said on Monday.
The four, identified by the Indore Police as Altamash Khan, 28, Javed Khan, 32, Imran Ansari 31, and Irfan Ali, 34, were arrested on charges of circulating fake messages to incite riots in the city.
“Altamash was connected with Pakistani nationals through social media while he was also found to be a member of All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen. Police also found sensitive materials from the possession of Altamash, which he wanted to use to create tension in the state,” the minister said.
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Mishra, however, also said the authorities have not come across any link between the four accused and the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and Population Front of India (PFI) as previously suspected.
Indore collector Manish Singh earlier indicated that there were intelligence inputs that these organizations were involved in the attempt to “create unrest.”
{{/usCountry}}Indore collector Manish Singh earlier indicated that there were intelligence inputs that these organizations were involved in the attempt to “create unrest.”
{{/usCountry}}“As of now, we found only a connection with AIMIM, not with PFI and SDPI. But more things will come out as police are still investigating the matter,” Mishra said.
Local AIMIM representatives said the party held a membership drive in the state, and that anyone could have become a member.
“We are holding a membership drive through a mobile application and anyone can become a member of the party. He might have taken membership but he was not connected with any leader,” said Tahir Anwar, a senior AIMIM leader in the state.
Senior police officials said investigations into a series of incidents and protests led the police to the four accused, who during the investigation, allegedly revealed they were angered by the attack on bangle seller Taslim Ali.
“After a series of incidents and protests, a special team of the cyber cell was formed to look at social media. During surveillance, police identified these four accused. They then told police that they were upset with the assault on bangle seller Taslim Ali and decided to create tension in a way that was difficult for the police to understand,” said Ashutosh Bagri, superintendent of police Indore (East).
Police said more than 10 Whatsapp groups were allegedly created to circulate provocative and communal messages. “Many members of different organisations were found to be part of the groups. We also found a recording of more than 200 people on the mobile phone of Altamash,” said Bagri. In some recordings, he added, Altamash is heard making Altamash statements.
Senior officials said the suspects were produced before the Indore district court on Monday via video conferencing.
Indore deputy inspector general DIG Manish Kapuriya said, “The series of incidents relating to promoting enmity between two communities are happening due to social media. More people will be arrested as soon as a special team identifies them.”