Jaipur blasts ‘brain’ Shahbaz Husain, held in UP

‘Successor’ to Simi chief nabbed

Kajari Bhattacharya, 26 August 2008, thestatesman.net

LUCKNOW, Aug. 25: In a crucial break for anti-terror agencies in the country, Shahbaz Husain, the said “successor” to Students’ Islamic Movement of India (Simi) chief, Safdor Nagori, was arrested in Mouliviganj of Lucknow’s Aminabad area around 3.05 p.m. today. Hussain was arrested in connection with the Jaipur serial bomb blasts carried out on 13 May.

In a joint operation by the Uttar Pradesh Police’ Anti Terrorism Squad and the Rajasthan Police, Shahbaz Hussain was nabbed nearly 10 days after another terror suspect and Simi operative, Abu Basher of Azamgarh, was arrested here. Hussain’s arrest comes after Basher’s interrogation provided leads into the Jaipur blasts, police sources said. Hussain is said to be a close aide of Basher. Basher is supposedly the mastermind of the 26 July Ahmedabad serial blasts. His involvement in the Jaipur blasts is also suspected.
Police here said major leads into the Jaipur blasts case are expected after the arrest and subsequent interrogation of Hussain, who is said to be the brain behind the Jaipur blasts. Hussain, who was an HR manager in a computer centre called Zyna Career Consultants in Adarsh Market near Maharani PG College in the state capital, was produced in the local Sessions Court here today, where he was put under 48 hours transit remand. Police sources here said Hussain aka Shannu is a close aide of Simi chief Safdar Nagori, who was produced in an Ahmedabad court today.

ATS sources here told The Statesman that Hussain has been living in Lucknow for the last two years, and is originally from Badoi district in UP.

Hussain’s in-laws, interestingly, live opposite the house of Humam Sidiqui, a lawyer who was fighting cases against Simi, and was arrested by the ATS in June this year, an ATS source said. “Hussain is well-educated after completing his BSc, he studied at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication in Delhi. He was editor of Simi’s magazine, Islamic Movement,” the source said. Hussain will be escorted via special chartered flight to Jaipur by Rajasthan Police tonight.

Meanwhile, according to DIG of police (crime) Mr Saurabh Srivastava, who was camping in Ahmedabad after the recent arrest of 10 Simi activists, Sajid Mansuri has disclosed vital clues and links regarding the Jaipur serial blasts during interrogation, adds SNS from Jaipur. Hussain along with Mansuri is believed to have conducted a detailed recce of the bombing sites before giving the final go ahead to the bomb planters. Mansuri is also likely to be brought to Jaipur in the coming days.

Jaipur blasts ‘brain’ held in UP

Aug 26, 2008, Pioneer News Service | Lucknow

A joint team of Jaipur Police and UP’s Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has arrested the owner of a computer institute and cyber cafe in Aminabad for his alleged links to the May 13 serial blasts in the Pink City.

Shahbaz Ahmed, a native of Bhadohi district in eastern UP, is a close aide of SIMI chief Safdar Nagori and used to edit a SIMI magazine propagating pan-Islamisation and stoking communal passions.

Keeping in mind that he is quite tech-savvy, the joint team is also probing minutely if Ahmed was involved in dashing off e-mails in the name of the lesser-known ‘Indian Mujahideen’ from a Ghaziabad cyber cafe soon after the Jaipur blasts.

His computer at the Aminabad institute was sealed and some hard discs and his cellphone were seized to extract clues. The sleuths were yet to make a search of his Naka Hindola house to collect his belongings for further possible leads.

Ahmed’s name cropped up during the quizzing of two masterminds of Ahmedabad serial blasts – Abdul Bashir of Saraimeer, Azamgarh, and Yunus aka Sajid Mansuri – who were arrested by Gujarat Police. During its interrogation, the duo spilled the beans of Ahmed having a close rapport with Nagori.

Subsequent investigations revealed that Ahmed had shifted base to Lucknow two years back and opened “Snazzy Computer Training Institute” opposite Mahila College at Aminabad and was also operating a cyber cafe there. A few months back, he changed the name of the institute to “Zaian Computer Centre”. The Jaipur Police later contacted the UP ATS and sought its help in netting Ahmed.

About the operations, ADG (Crime, Law & Order) Brij Lal said the ATS team came to know that Ahmed was residing at 155/17/12, Hata Suleman Kadar, in Naka. On Monday afternoon, the joint team raided his institute and arrested Ahmed. The Jaipur Police, which was armed with a production warrant from a Jaipur court for Ahmed’s involvement in the May 13 serial blasts, produced him before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Lucknow, who gave a 48-hour transit remand for him to be taken to Jaipur.

Meanwhile, sources said that Ahmed was under Uttar Pradesh ATS surveillance for one year and it came to light that he used to visit Bhopal and Indore for attending Nagori’s camps. They also suspect him to be involved in sending e-mails in the name of the Indian Mujahideen.