Gujarat ATS arrests member of Ratlam-based extremist outfit Al Soofa


PTI | Ahmedabad | Updated: 17-05-2022 18:53 IST | Created: 17-05-2022 18:53 IST
Gujarat ATS arrests member of Ratlam-based extremist outfit Al Soofa
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The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad has arrested a member of Madhya Pradesh-based Al Soofa extremist outfit which had allegedly planned to blow up a bridge in Jaipur in Rajasthan using explosives, said an ATS official on Tuesday.

Aaqif Nachan was arrested by the Gujarat ATS from Padgha village in Maharashtra's Thane district on Monday and brought to Ahmedabad on Tuesday, said Superintendent of Police (ATS) Sunil Joshi.

He is suspected to be linked to a terror module busted by the Rajasthan police in March, a case now being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Preliminary probe has revealed the 41-year-old was a member of Al Soofa, an extremist organisation based in Madhya Pradesh's Ratlam city, and had taken training in making bombs, said Joshi.

''On March 30, the Rajasthan police had arrested three men - Zubair, Saifulla and Altamash Khan, all residents of Ratlam (and suspected members of the outfit) - and recovered 13 kg of explosive material, battery and other items from their car in Chittorgarh, Rajasthan. It was later revealed the accused had planned to put that explosive material under a bridge in Jaipur to blow it up,'' said the SP.

He added that the Rajasthan case was later transferred to the NIA, which then nabbed three more persons - Imran Khan, Aamin Favda and Aamin Patel (allegedly associated with Al Soofa) - from Ratlam after conducting its own probe.

An FIR under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) has been lodged by the anti-terror agency.

''Meanwhile, the Gujarat ATS received a tip-off that Nachan, who was absconding, had visited Ahmedabad some time back along with Zubair and was a part of the Ratlam-based Al Soofa outfit. Our team nabbed him from Padgha village of Maharashtra. We will hand him over to the NIA in the coming days for further investigation,'' said Joshi.

Nachan confessed to have taken training in bomb making at Imran Khan's Ratlam-based poultry farm in February 2022, said the SP.

He told the ATS that Aamin Favda, Aamin Patel and some other persons were also present at the two-day bomb making training session, said the police officer.

While Nachan was earlier booked in a case of attempt to murder in Bhiwandi, Zubair and Saifulla were earlier held in connection with the murder of Bajrang Dal leader Kapil Rathod in 2014 in Ratlam, said Joshi.

Also, Zubair and Altamash Khan were earlier arrested for the murder of another Bajrang Dal leader Tarun Sankhla in 2017, said the ATS officer. PTI PJT RSY RSY

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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