MP police to take SIMI ultra on 15-day remand

Rourkela: The anti-terrorist squad (ATS) of Madhya Pradesh police will take Mohammad Salek, one of the five terrorists of Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) recently arrested from here, on a 15-day remand.

While praying to the SDJM court to take Salek on a 15-day remand, the ATS team had also submitted a special request petition sent by the Second Additional District Sessions Court and requested the court to take Salek to Bhopal for further investigation. The court accepted the request and allowed the ATS team to take the SIMI ultra on a 15-day remand.

Salek is one of the five terrorists of Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) who was arrested from here recently.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has already taken three other SIMI terrorists—Amjad Khan, Zakir Hussein and Sheikh Mehmoob— on a 15-day remand to Bhopal for further interrogation.

Notably, the four SIMI ultras and a Muslim woman, Najma (mother of Sheikh Mehmoob) were arrested by the police on February 16 night.

All of them are the residents of Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh and are among the most-wanted terrorists in the country and the NIA had announced Rs 10 lakh reward on each of their heads.

The arrested SIMI men were involved in 17 blasts at various places. Their records showed that they were involved in the killing of two policemen in Telangana and ne in Madhya Pradesh. They had escaped from Khandwa Jail in Madhya Pradesh in 2013. They also robbed Rs 48 lakh from a bank in Telangana.

Soon after their arrest, the Special Task Force (STF) team of the State Crime Branch had interrogated them and collected vital information about their modus operandi during their stay in Odisha.

Apart from Rourkela, the five SIMI ultras had also stayed in a rented house at Bhadrak. The Crime Branch police had also interrogated the house owners.