Two men of Al-Qaeda-backed group held from Uttar Pradesh

• Shubham
• 11 July, 2021

Follow Us

By: Shubham Ghosh

TWO men of the Al-Qaeda supported Ansar Ghaztwatul Hind were on Sunday (11) arrested from the outskirts of Lucknow, the capital of the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, a senior official said, adding explosive materials were seized from them.

The duo – Minhaz Ahmed and Maseeruddin – are both residents of the city and were apprehended by the state police’s anti-terrorist squad (ATS), additional director general of police (law and order) Prashant Kumar told reporters, adding that they were planning to “unleash terror activities on August 15 (India’s Independence Day) in different cities of the state”.

“The ATS has arrested two active members belonging to Al-Qaeda-supported ‘Ansar Ghazwatul Hind’. Minhaz Ahmed, a resident of Lucknow’s Dubagga area, and Maseeruddin, a resident of Lucknow’s Madiaon area, have been arrested. Explosive material has been recovered from them,” Kumar said.

Ahmed and Maseeruddin, on the instructions of Umar Halmandi, the head of the Uttar Pradesh module of the Al-Qaeda, along with their associates were planning to “unleash terror activities on August 15 in different cities of the state, especially its capital Lucknow”, he added.

“They were planning explosions at important places, memorials and crowded places, and also to use human bombs. For this, they were collecting weapons and explosives,” the official said.

He also said that the members of the module are not only from Lucknow but also Kanpur, another city in Uttar Pradesh. The ADGP said raids were being carried out at different places to apprehend associates of the arrested.

“During interrogation, the accused persons said that their accomplices ran away from their house. The ATS team along with the local police has undertaken intensive checking,” Kumar said and added that a case has been registered in this connection at the ATS station.

The pair will be produced before a court, and then taken into police custody, reports added.

Uttar Pradesh, which will go to assembly elections, was put on high alert.