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ATS arrests another suspect investigated by NIA
A sessions court in Mumbai remanded Ali to ATS custody after the agency sought his remand for further investigation related to Pune case
Pune: The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Tuesday arrested another suspect Zulfikar Ali Barodawala who is currently at the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai and probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in an ISIS module case.
A sessions court in Mumbai remanded Ali to ATS custody after the agency sought his remand for further investigation related to Pune case. The central agency officials also told the court that they have established the involvement of Ali in the Pune case hence approached the court in Mumbai for his custody. It is the fifth arrest in the case probed by ATS.
The ATS officials said that during investigation, it was found that the arrested duo — Mohammad Imran Mohammad Yunus Khan and Mohammad Yunus Mohammad Yakub Saki — were working as a “sleeper cell” for the NIA accused Ali.
“The connection of Zulfikar Ali Barodawala was then established in the Pune case probed by ATS and the agency has initiated process to soon get Ali’s custody. We have already moved an application in the Mumbai court,” said the officer requesting anonymity.
On 3 July, NIA had busted a Maharashtra-based ISIS module by arresting four suspects for promoting terrorist activities at the behest of ISIS. The suspects were identified as Tanish Nasser Siddiqui from Nagpada Mumbai, Zubair Noor Mohammed Shaikh alias Abu Nusaiba from Kondhwa and Sharjeel Shaikh and Zulfikar Ali Barodawala from Padgha Thane.
According to NIA, Siddiqui, Nusaiba, Sharjeel, Zulfikar and their associates had recruited youth and trained them in fabrication of IEDs and weapons. These accused had also shared material including “Do it Yourself Kits” (DIY), among themselves for fabrication of IEDs and manufacture of small weapons, pistols, etc. ATS Pune suspects that the accused duo arrested from Kothrud in Pune was following the instructions of Ali and have sought the latter’s custody for investigation.
ATS official also said that duo arrested from Kothrud - Khan and Saki - travelled more than 1,000 km on their motorcycles specifically in western Maharashtra and conducted recce of the area. ATS have arrested IT engineer SN Kazi (27) from Ratnagiri district for his alleged involvement in providing financial assistance to the arrested accused and Kadir Dastagir Pathan (33) from Gondia for giving shelter to the Khan and Saki.
Khan and Saki, members of the ISIS inspired outfit Sufa, were arrested by the Kothrud police in bike theft case. During the probe, the police found that the duo was on the NIA list and carried a bounty of ₹5 lakh each.
As the terror links of Khan and Saki emerged, the ATS took over probe and invoked Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in the case.
