Crime Branch files charge sheet against 5 SIMI operatives

Rourkela: The Crime Branch of Odisha police filed the charge sheet against five Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) activists arrested in February at the Rourkela SDJM court yesterday.

Notably, the four SIMI ultras and a Muslim woman, Najma (mother of Sheikh Mehmood, one of the four) were arrested by the police from a rented house in Rourkela on February 16 night this year.

All of them are residents of Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh and were among the most-wanted terrorists in the country. The National Investigating Agency (NIA) had announced a Rs 10 lakh reward on each of their heads.

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

They had escaped from Khandwa Jail in Madhya Pradesh in 2013.

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.

Following their arrest, the Special Task Force (STF) of the State Crime Branch and NIA had taken them into remand and interrogated them.