Raids in Lucknow and Azamgarh in wake of terrorist attacks

Azamgarh/Lucknow, Sep 23 (UNI) The Anti-Terrorist Sqaud (ATS) of the Uttar Pradesh and Delhi police have intensified their operations in the wake of September 13 Delhi serial blasts with raids being conducted at several places in eastern UP, especially Azamgarh and the state capital of Lucknow.

Some of the operations were being undertaken jointly, while the ATS was also investigating independently to trace out the links of recent terrorists attacks, which shook Delhi, Jaipur, Banglore and Ahmedabad.

ATS, in a concerted operation, conducted some raids in Lucknow, apparently on the tip-offs of Shabaz who was arrested from here last month in connection with Ahmedabad bomb blasts on July 25. '' The raids in the state capital are verifying in nature, but might give some leads for the future strategy against the terror acts,'' some highly placed police sources told UNI.

The Lucknow raids were followed by today's joint raids conducted by ATS and Delhi police in various places in Azamgarh district, mainly at Sanjanpur village.

The raid, which took place at 0700 hrs this morning, had a span of about five hours during which six persons were taken into custody who were later released, Ramit Sharma, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Azamgarh, told UNI over phone.

The cops were raiding the native village of the outlaws on the basis of the infromation collected after grilling one of the terrorists. It may be recalled that on September 19, Atif alias Bashir and Sajid were killed, while Mohammad Saif was nabbed by the Delhi police during the encounter in Jamia Nagar locality of the national capital.

The team, comprised as many as 300 sleuths of UP ATS, Azamgarh police and the Delhi police, had searched several places besides interrogating the relatives of the terrorists nabbed from Delhi.

UNI SB JAS SP KN1352