Preliminary probe showed the five terrorists, picked up from the city and its fringes over the last few days, were planning to target densely populated areas in the run-up to and during the upcoming festival season.
Of the five—Mohammad Sadiq Sheikh, Sheikh Mohammad Ansar, Afzal Usmani, Mohammad Arif Sheikh and Mohammad Zakir Sheikh—Sadiq, said officials, was the biggest catch. He was one of the founder members of the Indian Mujahideen, had an important role in most of the recent blasts and had actively participated in the Ahmedabad terror attack along with other members of the module.
A sixth Mumbaikar, Mohammad Tahir Sheikh (Sadiq’s brother), was picked up for interrogation on Thursday but went home after a few hours as the cops did not find anything to link him to what his brother and his friends had been up to.
Three more arrested
Three more arrests were made as police trawled Mumbai with the terror dragnet. Riaz Farukhi, Naveed Qureshi and Rashid Sheikh, all residents of Kausa in Mumbra, were arrested on Wednesday evening for suspected association with the five members of the busted Indian Mujahideen module. Farukhi is said to be the partner of the arrested Arif Sheikh, an electrician by profession who was working as a compounder with a unani doctor in Mumbra. Police did not give any reason for the detention
‘Mumbai still in danger’
Mumbai: Police officials on Thursday said what they had learned about the Indian Mujahideen module’s plans for Mumbai had them worried. “These terrorists were planning to target a large business centre in south Mumbai as well as the upcoming festivities,’’ a senior police officer said. “A dozen or so members of the same module are still to be picked up and we cannot therefore say with certainty that Mumbai is out of danger,’’ he added.
Navratri is the biggest festival in Mumbai in October in the period after Id. And the business centre that the terrorists had as their target was always on the terror map, officials said. “Several security measures have already been undertaken there, like restrictions on parking and a temporary ban on dabbawallas, but we will not drop our guard as this trading centre has always been a terror target,’’ a senior police official said.
A huge cache of ammunition and explosives, including gelatin sticks, ammonium nitrate and a sub-machine gun, were recovered from terror hideouts in the city, officials said. “These, according to preliminary findings, would have been used in Mumbai,’’ one of them added.
