Muslims riots during Ganesh festival in Madhya Pradesh

Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh (CHAKRA)

There were Hindu – Muslim riots on the issue of installation of Ganesh idol at Ujjain. Two persons were killed and many got injured during these riots. Curfew has been imposed in the jurisdiction of 9 police stations in the city.

The trouble began on Friday night in the Daulatgunj old town area of Ujjain after a Hindu shop-owner installed an idol of Ganesh at his store, which is
adjacent to a mosque. Police said that some members of the Muslim community objected to it since the idol is un-Islamic and was near the Mosque where
Muslims were praying. Although the idol was on the shopkeepers property,police urged the shopkeeper to shift the idol to another spot to calm the Muslim mob.

Via link

Report on Modules of SIMI/IM Islamic Terrorists in 8 Indian States

Indian Mujahideen strikes deep

Mon, Feb 22 06:08 AM

Uttar Pradesh

SIMI was formed in Aligarh in 1977 and had thousands of members and offices in almost every district of the state before it was banned by the Centre in 2002. The group came under the radar of intelligence agencies after 1998 and the then SIMI president Dr Shahid Badr Falahi was arrested in Bahraich for an alleged provocative speech days after 9/11.

More than 1,200 SIMI members were arrested from the state after the ban. Police say they have evidence to prove that the SIMI was involved in the February 2005 blasts in Varanasi, the Shramjeevi Express blast in July 2005, the Varanasi blasts of March 2006, and serial blasts in courts in Lucknow, Faizabad and Varanasi in 2007.

Among the prominent members arrested in the state are Abu Bashar of Azamgarh, who is said to have first revealed the existence of IM and its role in blasts across the country, and Shahbaz Ahmed of Lucknow, allegedly involved in the Jaipur blasts. State anti-terrorism squad officials say they are still looking for seven key IM operatives belonging to Azamgarh: Dr Shahnawaz, Ariz Khan alias Junaid, Mohammad Sajid alias Bada Sajid, Mirza Shadab Beig, Mohammad Khalid, Asadullah Akhtar and Salman.

Maharashtra

Mumbai and Pune were the main IM hubs with an extensive network of operatives capable of providing resources for an attack anywhere in the country. The arrests made in 2008 in these two cities laid bare the backbone of the IM. The outfit grew out of the seamy underbelly of Mumbai’s gangland, with Riyaz Bhatkal dabbling in underworld activities before becoming involved in SIMI operations in the Muslim dominated areas of Kurla and Cheetah Camp.

In fact, Riyaz was a suspect in the bomb blasts in Mumbai in 2002 and 2003 and a manhunt was launched for him then. In Pune, IM had set up base in the Kondhwa area, with a control room in an apartment in an upmarket housing society. Mumbai police arrested 21 IM members, including IT engineer Mansoor Peerbhoy, and charged them of forming an organised crime syndicate for terrorist activities and hacking into WiFi accounts to send e-mails claiming credit for bomb blasts.

Among the key missing operatives from the state are Abdus Subhan Qureshi alias Tauqeer, the face of IM in 2008, Amin alias Raja Ayub Shaikh, Abdul Shakoor Khan alias Irfan, Abu Rashid.

Gujarat

The state has been more a target for SIMI-IM than a hub for the groups, with most men blamed for the 2008 blasts belonging to other states. The blasts were allegedly carried out under the direction, guidance and assistance of Harkat-ul-Jehadi-Islam (HuJI) operative Amir Raza Khan from Pakistan.

Gujarat Police took custody of senior SIMI leaders Safdar Nagori and Abdul Sibli from Madhya Pradesh and others were taken into custody from jails elsewhere. So far, 57 people have been arrested for the blasts and 38 named in the conspiracy are at large.

Madhya Pradesh

The strong SIMI network in the state helped IM recruit and train members the way it did in UP. In 2008, 13 SIMI leaders, including the outfit’s general secretary Safdar Nagori and his brother Kamruddin, were arrested following raids in Indore. The police described the arrested as active members from Kerala, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

The arrested also included SIMI’s Karnataka unit chief Hafiz Hussain and Shibli, the mainstay of the group in Kerala. In April 2008, the police neutralised a SIMI training camp in Choral, a popular holiday spot, 35 km from Bhopal. Qayamuddin Kapadia, suspected to be one of the main conspirators of the Ahmedabad serial blasts, was arrested from the state in November 2008. Last April, IM operative Saif-ur-Rahman was arrested from a train in Jabalpur. The Azamgarh resident is accused of planting bombs in Jaipur and Ahmedabad.

Kerala

Although Kerala has not been an IM target, the state is home to some of its key members and several places hosted secret indoctrination, arms training camps after 2005. According to Gujarat police, 37 hardcore SIMI activists had participated in a bomb-making and tough-terrain training camp in Vagamon in 2007. Aluva, Paravoor and Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district, Erattupetta in Kottayam and old Kannur city are known to have been used by the IM while half-a-dozen men arrested for being linked to Lashkar are from Kannur city.

Prominent among the key SIMI-IM operators from Kerala are C A M Basheer, an aeronautical engineer from Aluva and the former national president of SIMI. Other SIMI leaders from Kerala are Peediyekkal Shibili, his brother Shaduli and Ansar Maulavi. They were arrested in Indore in March 2008. Sarfraz Nawaz, secretary at the SIMI Delhi office, was picked up by the RAW from Muscat last year.

The police had found that Nawaz financed the Bangalore blasts and knew Basheer. Sainudheen alias Satharbhai of Malappuram designed the explosives for Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Surat in 2008. Tadiyantavide Nazeer, who had played a key role in recruiting youth for training at Lashkar camps, was nabbed last November and is suspected to have been with the IM in 2008. Key players absconding from Kerala are C A M Basheer, Ayoob, Ummer Farook and Subaih.

Karnataka

While the Bhatkal brothers, Riyaz Shahbandari and Iqbal Shahbandari, used their coastal hometown of Bhatkal as an IM hub, the activities of the group elsewhere in the state were restricted largely to the northern districts of Bijapur, Bidar and Gulbarga. A spurt in SIMI activities occurred in 2007 when various senior members from Karnataka and Kerala tried to reorganise a hardline version.

While the core group had 25-30 members, the effort to revive the SIMI in 2007 saw training camps being held on the Karnataka-Goa border, in the Hubli-Dharwad region and at Ernakulam in Kerala through 2006-07. Much of the network that emerged during this period was busted by Karnataka police through 2008. The IM members blamed for the Hyderabad and Ahmedabad blasts were trained in a remote village in Chikamagalur district.

Although the IM is not held directly responsible for the July 2008 blasts in Bangalore, Riyaz Bhatkal and the perpetrators of the attack a small group of men from Kerala led by former Kerala SIMI activists obtained integrated chip timers for bombs from a common source. The Bhatkal brothers and the Bangalore bombers used a Hyderabad house as a hideout. Besides the Bhatkal brothers, key IM members from the state on the loose are bomb expert Yasin Bhatkal and Mudassar.

Andhra Pradesh

Mufti Abu Bashir, arrested for the Gujarat blasts, Maulana Abdul Aleem Islahi, a SIMI sympathiser who runs a madrasa in Hyderabad, Raziuddin Nasir and Safdar Nagori were involved in setting up the SIMI-IM network in the state. The SIMI set up several religious institutions to continue its activities after it was banned and police suspect Darsgah-e-Jihad-o-Shahadat and Tehrik Tahfuz-e-Shair-e-Islam were two among them.

Maulana Naseeruddin of Tehrik was arrested by Gujarat Police in 2004 for his involvement in the murder of former minister of state for home Haren Pandya. Scores of SIMI-IM members were picked up during the crackdown after the twin-blasts of August 2007 and the Mecca Masjid blasts. They included Raziuddin Nasir, Mohtasin Billa, Mohammed Nissar, Mohammed Muqeemuddin Yaser, Mohammed Sohail, Maulana Naseeruddin and Jaber Naseeruddin.

Police claim that they have managed to “finish off” SIMI-IM in the state after “tightening the noose around a few madrasas whose activities were suspect”. Vikar Ahmed, who shot at two policemen in Hyderabad last August, is the only one absconding, besides a few sympathisers against whom police say they do not have evidence.

Delhi

The Delhi module of IM was led by Atif Ameen and is blamed for the serial blasts of 2008 in the Capital. After the blasts, the Delhi Police cracked Ameen’s module in Batla House and killed two Atif and Mohammad Sajid. Five IM members were also arrested from Delhi: Mohammad Saif, Zeeshan Ahmed, Mohammad Shakeel, Zia-Ur-Rehman and Saqib Nisar. Two others, Shahzad Ahmed and Ariz Khan alias Pappu managed to flee but Shahzad was arrested from Azamgarh this month. The Delhi Police continues to look for 12 SIMI-IM members, including Amir Raza Khan, Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal, Mohammad Khaild, Salman, Asadullah Akhtar, Dr Shahnawaz, Mohammad Sajid and Ariz Khan.

With inputs from Bhupendra Pandey, Johnson T A, Sreenivas Janyala, Shaju Philip and Neeraj Chauhan

Nepal’s former prince Paras, kingpin of fake currency: ATS racket

Nepal ex-prince kingpin of fake notes racket?
Suchandana Gupta, TNN 1 September 2009

BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh anti-terror squad on Monday arrested two Nepalese with fake Indian currency notes interrogated, made the startling disclosure that the kingpin of the racket was none other than Nepal’s former crown prince, Paras, as well as the son of a former Nepalese minister, Salim Mian Ansari. ( Watch Video )

In fact, Rajesh Gupta and Ateeq Ahmad, both Nepalese citizens, alleged that former King Gyanendra Singh’s son was working with Pakistan’s ISI and Mumbai underworld don, Dawood Ibrahim, reportedly hiding in Karachi. Salim Mian Ansari is a former forest minister of that country.

Both Gupta (42) and Ahmad (43) were trying to board a Gorakhpur-bound train at Bhopal railway station on Saturday when the cops swooped down on them, and caught them with 22 FICN of Rs 500 denomination. The notes were printed in Nepal.

“This is the first time we have caught fake note smugglers red-handed in Madhya Pradesh,” said deputy inspector general, ATS, Pawan Shrivastava. Sources in the state police headquarters said that the finance ministry and Central investigating agencies have been informed of the stunning disclosures made by the arrested Nepali citizens.

The role of Paras and Yunus Ansari is being further probed. Both Gupta and Ahmad have told the police that Ansari is the main link to ISI and D-company in Nepal. He is also a business partner of King Gyanendra’s son Paras. Intelligence agencies in India have always been intrigued about the exact businesses of Ansari.

Rajesh and Ahmad are businessmen who are considered the third level operators in the FICN racket. Police said there are five-levels in the operation starting with the masterminds based in Pakistan and Nepal. The last line is mostly petty criminals in India’s metros and other cities. Ahmad was a resident of Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh. Twelve years ago, he married a girl in Nepal and got the citizenship of the Himalayan state. He settled sown in Birganj, the largest town in Nepal’s Terai region in the south-east part of the country close to Raxaul. Raxaul and Birganj have been known to be the transit points of FICN. Gupta, too, lives in Kathmandu.

“It’s an intricate network. The ISI has recruited large number of agents like Gupta and Ahmad who push crores of fake currency notes across the open borders of Nepal,” said ATS chief Shrivastava. Rajesh Gupta and Ateeq Ahmad brought the fake currency notes to Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. They were in touch with at least 40 persons in Madhya Pradesh who work as their last link in the racket. The two have been remanded in police custody until September 8.

Suspected Islamic terrorist arrested after 8 years in Madhya Pradesh for planting bomb in Chennai Express

Wanted terrorist held in Madhya Pradesh

Morena, MP, May 28 : Madhya Pradesh’s Anti-Terrorist Squad, in a joint operation with the police personnel, has apprehended a suspected terrorist, who was on the run for eight years after planting a bomb in the Chennai Express.

”On a tip-off, Ishaq Khan — who planted the device on May 20, 2000, in the train that passes this district headquarters — was nailed last night in Madhavganj area. The accused was presented in a court today and remanded to four days’ police custody,” Superintendent of Police Amrit Meena said here.

Sustained interrogation was in progress. 

The bomb had been defused by the police after the train reached Chennai. A probe revealed that the device was wrapped in a newspaper published from Gwalior. On that basis, the Chennai Police investigated in Gwalior and Morena, but no arrest could be executed.

”On May 19, 2001, a bomb exploded behind the local PG College, killing police personnel Pavan Pathak. Later, Shahid Khan, Shaheed and Ishaq were arrested in this connection and during interrogation, they confessed to the crime. Ishaq was granted bail as he was a minor,” the officer added.

Two people named Liaquat and Rahman had begun manufacturing bombs in the local Slampura area. They involved Shahid, Shaheed and Ishaq. Rahman and Liaquat are absconding.

— UN

SC rejects Muslim’s plea to sport beard, says no ‘Talibanisation of India’

Muslim student approaches apex court on keeping of beard

SC rejects Muslim’s plea to sport beard, says no ‘Talibanisation of India’
30 Mar 2009, 2309 hrs IST, PTI

NEW DELHI: Rejecting the plea of a Muslim student that he should be permitted to sport beard in his convent school, the Supreme Court on Monday
observed secularism cannot be overstretched and that “Talibanisation” of the country cannot be permitted.

“We don’t want to have talibans in the country. Tommorow a girl student may come and say that she wants to wear a burqa, can we allow it,” Justice Markandeya Katju speaking for a bench headed by Justice Raveendran observed.

Asserting that he was a secularist to the core, Justice Katju however said religious beliefs cannot be overstretched.

“I am secularist. We should strike a balance between rights and personal beliefs. We cannot overstretch secularism,” the judge known for his incisive remarks said.

Justice Katju passed the obsesrvation while dismsissing the petition of the student. Mohammad Salim of Nirmala Convent Higher Secondary School, a government-recognised minority institution in Madhya Pradesh, has sought quashing of the school regulation requiring students to be clean-shaven.

Challenging a Madhya Pradesh High Court verdict that had earlier dismissed his plea, Salim submitted that every citizen was entitled to follow his religious principles and that no one should restrain him from doing so in a secular country like India.

Salim’s counsel Justice (retd) B A Khan argued before the bench that sporting beard was an indispensable part of Islam.

But Justice Katju was apparently not impressed with the argument and quipped “But you (Khan) don’t sport a beard?” the judge asked the counsel.

The apex court then said that a minority institution has its own set of rules and rights provided by Article 30 of the Constitution and the same cannot be breached by any person.

“If there are rules you have to be. You can’t say that I will not wear a uniform I will only a burqa,” the bench observed.

The court further said if the student was not interested in following the rules then he has the option of joining some other institution.

“You can join some other institution if you do not want to observe the rules. But you can’t ask the school to change the rules for you,”Justice Katju observed.

Appearing for the student, senior advocate B A Khan said that Article 25 of the Constitution guaranteed protection to Salim to pursue his religious practice of keeping a beard and the regulation providing for shaving it off was violative of this provision.

He said the act of the principal to force the student to leave the school for keeping a beard was against “his religious conscience, belief and custom of his family”.

Pointing out that Sikh community members were allowed to keep a beard and sport a turban, Salim alleged there was a clear discrimination on part of the school to force him to be clean shaven and this rule was violative of his fundamental rights.

Mohammedan shoots 8 year old for spraying him with colours during Holi celebrations

8-year-old girl is shot at in MP for spraying colours on a man

By PTI
Posted On Thursday, March 12, 2009

Shahdol: An eight-year-old girl was on Wednesday allegedly shot at and injured by a person apparently peeved with her for spraying colour at him on the occasion of Holi at Parmaniya Khurd village in Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh.

Shelly Gupta was hurt in both legs when fisherman Mohammed Rashid of Singpur village allegedly opened fire with his gun at a group of children celebrating Holi as they sprayed him with colours, Kotwali police station in-charge Vijay Pratap Singh said. She was admitted to the Shahdol district hospital where her condition was stated to be out of danger.

Hearing gunshots, villagers gathered at the spot and beat up Rashid before handing him over to the police. A case has been registered against the accused.

Mohammedan fascists pelt stones at police and burn Hindu houses in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh

1 killed, 37 injured in MP communal clash

Tuesday, 10 March , 2009, 23:30

Ujjain: One person was killed and 37 people including three police officers were injured in a communal clash in a Madhya Pradesh town on Tuesday, police said.

Indefinite curfew was imposed in Mahidpura sub-district following the clash which erupted after police stopped members of a Muslim group, returning from a religious procession, from going towards the area where Hindus were holding a religious programme, police said.

“The trouble started when a few people returning from Milad-un-Nabi procession, on being stopped from going on a particular road, pelted stones at police,” Inspector General of Police Pawan Jain said.”The police baton-charged and used teargas to control them. They burnt houses of another community,” Jain said.

“The police opened fire to take control of the situation. At least 37 people have been reported injured and one person was killed. The youth succumbed while being rushed to the district hospital. The situation is tense but under control,” Jain said.

Three critically injured people were rushed to Indore.

The injured include sub-divisional officers of police Pradeep Shende and M S Dabar and inspector Upmanyu Saxena. end

Curfew in M.P. town after communal clash

Ujjain (M.P.): One person was killed in firing and 17 others, including six policemen, were injured as members of two communities clashed at Mahidpur in this district on Tuesday. An indefinite curfew has been clamped in the town.

The clash occurred when a religious procession, taken out on the occasion of Milad-un-Nabi, was returning from the Ram Mandir area of the town, where people were taking part in an ‘Akhand Ramayan Path,’ the police said.

The police said their appeal to the processionists to take a different route went unheeded, leading to the clash. The mob indulged in heavy stone throwing and arson, and the police lobbed teargas shells and fired in the air to contain the violence.

The police also canecharged the rioters. A person was shot dead during the clash, the police said. However, it was not clear whether the person was killed in the firing by the police or someone else.

Nearly two dozen people were arrested, official sources said, adding the situation in the town was tense but under control. An extra police force has been deployed at Mahidpur in view of Holi on Wednesday. — PTI

All 17 districts of Madhya Pradesh face danger from extremist Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI)

Sep 25, 2008
Break SIMI’s network
In all 17 districts of Madhya Pradesh face danger from the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). The organisation, over the years, being unchecked from any corner, has been strengthening its network. On Monday a meeting of senior police officials was held at the police headquarters in this connection. The districts where SIMI has spread its network include Sheopur, Guna, Ujjain, Indore, Bhopal, Dhar, Khandwa, Jabalpur, Shajapur, Neemuch, Dewas, Burhanpur, Narsinghpur, Seoni, Vidisha and Sehore. The meeting asked the police inspectors to coordinate and for free exchange of information on this issue.

Besides, the meeting also laid stress on intensive checking at all levels, proof of residence of tenants, regular checking of hotels, lodges and dharmashalas. It may be noted that soon after the constitution of the Anti-terror squad and the arrest of financier of SIMI, many grave information have come to the fore. At the same time the people’s co-operation is also a must to trace the activities of anti-national elements. The people should be aware what is happening in their colonies. If they find any person of suspicious nature, the police should be informed immediately so that any untoward incident is avoided. Now, the police intelligence should leave no stone unturned in busting SIMI’s hideouts and arresting their supporters.

Muslims pelt stones at Hanuman rath in Burhanpur, MP, 3 killed, 20 injured

Clashes break out in MP, three killed
11 Oct 2008, Times of India, Suchandana Gupta,TNN

BHOPAL: Three people were killed and at least 20 injured in Hindu-Muslim riots at Burhanpur town in south Madhya Pradesh on Friday. The district admi
nistration clamped curfew on the town and issued shoot-at-sight orders to bring the situation under control.

Rioters burned more than 60 shops in Gandhi Chowk area while houses and shops were ransacked in other parts of the town by rioting mobs. Police fired warning shots to disperse rioters.

Police said that the trouble started at 9:30 pm on Thursday when a religious procession was passing through a Muslim-dominated area of Burhanpur, a town close to Maharashtra border. Locals organise a three-day religious fair ‘Balaji (Hanuman) Mela’ right after Dussehra and a ‘rath’ with a Hanuman idol is taken out through the main thoroughfares of the town.

Police also said that the miscreants pelted stones on the ‘rath’ as it was passing through the area. This sparked clashes between the two communities. For next three hours, arson continued. The local administration tried to control the situation by organising a peace meeting of religious leaders but it did not work. Finally it imposed prohibitory orders late on Thursday night.

Fresh riots started on Friday afternoon when Muslims gathered at the Burhanpur’s Jama Masjid for prayers. According to leader of opposition of Burhanpur Municipal Corporation Nafeez Mansaab, fresh clashes started after some unidentified men threw red ‘gulaal’ on Muslims offering prayers.

Almost immediately the town turned into a battlefield. Shops in Gandhi Chowk area were set one fire by a group of rioters, while another group attacked the police. Additional policemen were rushed to the town. Later curfew was imposed on the town.

Burhanpur SP Sunil Jain said, “Whatever the police could do to bring the situation under control was done. Shoot-at-sight orders have been issued and the entire town brought under curfew.” Additional forces have been mobilised from the neighbouring districts of Indore, Dhar and Khandwa.

Burhanpur is an ancient town. Shahjahan’s wife Mumtaz was initially buried here. Her mausoleum was later transferred to Taj Mahal in Agra.

3 die in police firing in MP town after communal tension
Express news service, Oct 11, 2008
BHOPAL, OCTOBER 10 Three persons were killed in police firing and more than two dozen injured in stone pelting and firing in the communally-sensitive Burhanpur town of Madhya Pradesh on Friday.
Prohibitory orders were in force since late Thursday when trouble started over the procession of a Hindu deity in the town. Hindu organisations allege that the procession was stoned by Muslims and it could not reach its destination.

The incident was followed by arson, for which members of the two communities blamed each other.

In protest against Thursday night’s incident, Hindu organisations organised a dharna at Gandhi chowk while Muslims gathered in large numbers to offer Friday prayers.

Ahmedabad blasts: Mapping SIMI’s terror network

Mapping terror in India
17 Aug 2008, 0807 hrs IST

JIHADI FOOTPRINTS

Terrorists have not only used their network in Gujarat, they pulled in resources from various states to make the blasts in Gujarat and elsewhere in the country successful with the interplay of elements present in different states. TOI tracks the terror trail across the country

Kerala
Kerala worked as an active centre for SIMI activists till beginning of 2008. Safdar and Karimuddin Nagori organized a training camp in December 2007 in Waghamon forest at Aluva district

The pseudo-military camp was attended by youths from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh

They were given generic names to misguide investigators and taught to face interrogations. Also told to ask families to approach human rights organizations to make a noise about arrests

Nagoris, along with other SIMI leaders, delivered fiery speeches in the camp

Madhya Pradesh
SIMI teams from here have played a major role in Ahmedabad blasts. Suspects have been detained and arrested by Madhya Pradesh police Safdar Nagori, Karimuddin Nagori and Hafeez Husain, top SIMI leaders, are from MP. They arranged meetings to recruit people and raise funds

After Nagori’s arrest, two different ideologies divided the organization into SIMI and SIM. The latter wanted to expand across the globe. Police consider it to be genesis of Indian Mujahideen.

Maharashtra
Four cars used for Civil and LG Hospital blasts were procured from car thieves in Navi Mumbai

Terror mail was traced to a connection registered in the name of Ken Haywood, a US national in Mumbai. Police revealed Haywood’s neighbour may have used the connection to send the mail

Crime branch officials revealed a computer expert from Mumbai, also a prominent SIMI activist, attended a training camp at Halol and taught youth to make bombs.

Uttar Pradesh
Gujarat Police have arested Abdul Bashar Kasmi from Azamgarh as the mastermind of the Gujarat blasts

Gujarat
Various units, including Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Halol, Vapi and Bharuch played important role in executing the serial blasts

A SIMI training campwas held in jungles in Pavagadh in January 2008. Youths were trained in armed combat. Many Gujarati youths including ZahId Shaikh were present in the terror camp

A Vapi housing colony was used as transit point for cars that entered Gujarat. The number plates of cars were changed with Shaikh’s aid.