Bihar: Police claim arrested terror suspects had "plans to sabotage PM Modi's visit"

Bihar Police which has busted a suspected terror module with the arrest of two including a retired police official from Phulwari sharif on Wednesday claimed the arrested were involved in anti-India activities and were planning to sabotage the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Patna visit.

Patna : Police on Wednesday claimed to have busted a suspected terror module with the arrest of two, including a retired Jharkhand Police official, from the Phulwari Sharif area of Patna, whom they said were hatching plans to sabotage the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bihar visit.

Sources said the suspects were picked up based on specific intelligence inputs on July 11 from Naya Tola, a day ahead of the PM's visit. Sustained investigations revealed that they were onto target the PM. Based on the incriminating evidence including documents, plans, balance sheet, and mobile phones, recovered from the possession of the accused, a case was registered on Wednesday and the suspects were arrested.

"The arrested persons have been identified as Mohammad Jallauddin, a retired Jharkhand police officer, and Athar Parvez. They have links with PFI. Jallauddin was earlier associated with Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI)," Phulwari Sharif Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Manish Kumar said.

The arrested were formerly associated with with the banned Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and were involved in alleged anti-India activities, Kumar said. "The PM visited Bihar on July 12 and participated in the valedictory function of the Bihar assembly’s centenary celebrations and ahead of his visit, the suspects have held a meeting on July 6 and July 7 and have hatched their plans to sabotage the PM's visit," he said.

The ASP said an excerpt from an eight-page-long document the accused shared titled 'India vision 2047' talks about "subjugating coward majority community and bringing back the glory". "They were teaching locals how to use swords and knives and also instigating them for communal violence, the official added.

"An investigation has revealed that people from other states were visiting them in Patna. Those visitors used to change their names while staying in hotels in the Bihar capital to conceal their identities. Several objectionable documents pertaining to Islamic extremism have been seized from their possession," the ASP said. Parvez's younger brother had been jailed in 2001-02 in connection with several bomb blast cases in Bihar after SIMI was banned, Kumar said.

"During the investigation, it was found that Parvez was in constant touch with members of several overseas organisations and was raising foreign funds to carry out anti-India activities. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also been engaged by the police for further probe pertaining to their money trail," he added.