Nagpur: ATS takes possession of terrorist who conducted recce at RSS Hedgewar Bhavan

The Nagpur police force had also interrogated the accused earlier, though his possession has now been given to the ATS team to procure further leads in the investigation that is still underway.

Nagpur: The Nagpur unit of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad on Wednesday took over the custody of Dr Raees Ahmed Asadullah Sheikh of Jaish-e-Mohammed for conducting a recce of the RSS associated Hedgewar Smriti Bhavan in January this year. Earlier, Ahmed was arrested by Kashmir police in Jammu and Kashmir, wherein he had revealed that the recce was conducted on the orders of the Jaish operators in Pakistan.

The Nagpur police force had also interrogated the accused earlier, though his possession has now been given to the ATS team to procure further leads in the investigation that is still underway. The ATS will now focus on the details of the entire happening, including those about the people who provided the terrorist group with the required information.

When the case first came to light from Nagpur on January 7, a high alert was issued in the city. Nagpur Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar had confirmed that the accused conducted recce at several locations in the city including the RSS headquarters. A case was registered under the UAPA Act in this regard, as informed by Kumar.

The accused had reportedly come to Nagpur from Jammu and Kashmir and stayed in the city for two days in July 2021. During his two day stay, the youth had taken some photos of the area around the Hedgewar monument. The police had also confirmed that he was living in the Bardi area in the city. As the probe moves further, the Nagpur ATS now aims to gain more inputs from the accused.