Absconding SIMI member arrested after 22 years

The Delhi police’s special cell, in coordination with the local police in Bhusawal in Maharashtra, on February 22 arrested Hanif Sheikh, 47, an alleged member of the banned organisation SIMI (The Students’ Islamic Movement of India)

Mumbai: The Delhi police’s special cell, in coordination with the local police in Bhusawal in Maharashtra, on February 22 arrested Hanif Sheikh, 47, an alleged member of the banned organisation SIMI (The Students’ Islamic Movement of India). The case against Sheikh, who has been absconding for over 22 years, was registered in Delhi in 2001, and he was declared a proclaimed offender by the concerned trial court in 2002.

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The Delhi police, who were on his heels for the last five years, collected information from different parts of the country, especially Delhi-NCR, UP, MP, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, and travelled extensively to get details about and identify Sheikh. The only lead available to them was the name ‘Haneef Hudai’ printed on the SIMI magazine that he edited. Taking off from here, they questioned hundreds of people and conducted a detailed investigation.

Earlier this month, the police heard from an informer that Sheikh alias Haneef Hudai had changed his name to Mohamad Hanif and was staying in Bhusawal in Jalgaon, Maharashtra, and working as a teacher in an Urdu school. Police inspector Pawan Kumar, along with sub-inspector Sumit of the southern range special cell, Delhi, came down to Bhusawal on February 22.

A police team was stationed near the school for many days to confirm Sheikh’s identity, and once the police were fully sure, the raiding team was alerted. A trap was laid for Sheikh near Asha Tower on Khadka Road on the afternoon of February 22. Sheikh tried to escape but the police managed to nab him after a scuffle.

There are four cases registered against Sheikh in Bhusawal from 1998 to 2001 on charges of continuously propagating hardcore Islamic ideology and luring gullible Muslim youths to join SIMI. In the 2001 case, he was booked under the

Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). He was the editor of the Urdu version of the SIMI magazine ‘Islamic Movement’ and allegedly indoctrinated many young Muslims in the last two decades.

Sheikh fled Delhi on September 27, 2001, when the office-bearers of SIMI were addressing a press conference at their headquarters in Jamia Nagar in Delhi. The police conducted a raid, arrested several activists and recovered incriminating material and allegedly provocative literature. Several activists apart from Sheikh managed to flee.

Sheikh completed his primary schooling from Bhusawal, and then went to Malegaon in Nashik, from where he completed his Class 10 from the Jamat-Ul-Huda madrasa. He started using Hudai after his name. He completed his diploma in education from Marul, Jalgaon, in 1997 and thereafter started reading Islamic literature in college.

Sheikh joined SIMI in 1997 in Bhusawal and became an ansar (full-time worker). In 2000, he moved to Delhi, where he stayed at the SIMI headquarters at Zakir Nagar. Impressed by his zeal, Shahid Badar, then president of SIMI, made Sheikh the editor of the Urdu edition of ‘Islamic Movement’ in 2001. According to the police, Sheikh wrote several provocative articles, highlighting alleged atrocities against Muslims in India.

When the police raided the meeting in 2001, Sheikh went underground, often changing locations to evade arrest. According to the police, he admitted to visiting many places in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat to motivate many youths to join SIMI.

After SIMI was banned, some senior members launched new organisations such as ‘Wahdat-e-Islami’. Sheikh is one of the think-tank members of Wahdat-e-Islami and played an important role in Maharashtra and adjoining states. He was allegedly involved in collecting money in the garb of donations in order to finance the agendas of SIMI and Wahadat-e-Islami.