SIMI saga: From fundamentalism to terrorism

NOW THAT the role of the Students? Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) has come into focus after the Mumbai blasts, investigators are beginning to learn about its metamorphosis from a right-wing group to an organisation supporting terrorism.

NOW THAT the role of the Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) has come into focus after the Mumbai blasts, investigators are beginning to learn about its metamorphosis from a right-wing group to an organisation supporting terrorism.

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Around two years ago, when nothing was going well for SIMI, it evolved a new strategy to survive. The think-tank allowed the Ansars to act independently and create terror modules. So as to remain in touch and shield their identities, around 400 Ansars were given specific numeric codes on the pattern of top terrorist organisations.

The instructions: Join all like-minded terror groups and assist to the best of capacity. The change, intelligence sources say suited the LeT looking for Indian boys to give itself more indigenous look.

“The Ansars are mainly using several groups with a fundamentalist approach to cover their tracks. SIMI leaders grilled have divulged some vital clues about these outfits,” said a source. As a result three major outfits, two of them well known and another, a youth wing, are under the scanner.

In the course of grilling, even jailed state SIMI chief Mohammad Aamir shed light on the new strategy of the outfit. Sources say after the ban was imposed in October 2001 for five years, SIMI’s network was in tatters for want of leadership. All top leaders were either underground or had been arrested and funding had dried up. The revival started in 2003 and leaders marshalled troops, who by then had infiltrated other Muslim outfits for cover.

First a defunct Tehreek-e-Shai’re Islam was revived to reactivate funding channels. Then the Ansars were split and asked to work independently. They were given codes and even correspondence was made mandatory in numeric codes.

“This really helped SIMI bounce back with deadly effect. The agencies always had a serious problem in identifying the Ansar cadre and the change made it near impossible,” said a source. On the other hand, terror groups like LeT absorbed these cadres who even fought for them in Kashmir operations and beyond. This fact sprung up after the recent arrest of ex-SIMI Ansar and LeT operative, Imran Ansari, in Sultanpur recently. Ansari was undergoing treatment for wounds he suffered in a gun battle with security forces in Kupawara.