Over a dozen Gonda youths on ATS radar for ‘ISI links’

Police deploy teams to verify credentials of over a dozen men who were on the friends and contact lists of previously arrested men from Gonda, say officials

LUCKNOW Over a dozen men from Gonda were on the Anti-Terrorism Squad’s radar for their suspected links with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and different terror organizations after the arrests of four locals in this connection in the past one month, said police.

One Muqeem Siddiqui, 21, was arrested on August 1 (Tuesday) for his alleged links with the ISI. He was roped into the ISI network through his neighbour Mohd Raees, 26, who was arrested on July 16. (Pic for representation)

“We have deployed teams to verify the credentials of over a dozen men who were on the friends and contact lists of previously arrested men from Gonda. Some of them have been called for questioning, based on information revealed by those arrested,” said a police official.

One Muqeem Siddiqui, alias Arshad, 21, was arrested on August 1 (Tuesday) for his alleged links with the ISI. He was roped into the ISI network through his neighbour Mohd Raees, 26, who was arrested on July 16.

He said Arshad and Raees were residents of Deenpurwa village of Gonda and they were known to each other since childhood. Raees had also roped in another friend Mohd Salman, 25, a resident of Gonda’s Wazirganj area.

Earlier, Raees was roped into the ISI network by Arman Ali Syed, 65, of Jogeshwari (east), Mumbai. Salman and Arman Ali were arrested from Mumbai on July 18 and brought to Lucknow for investigation, added the officer.

Prior to these arrests, a terror suspect, Saddam Sheikh, 38, was arrested by the ATS on July 1. He too belonged to Basedi village of Gonda.