Radicalising through the Mosque-Madrasa network: Is Amroha India’s new Azamgarh
New Delhi, Dec 27: Four out of the 10 operatives arrested following the busting of an ISIS inspired module were from Amroha. Going by what the NIA has probed so far, it becomes clear that these men from Amroha had played a significant role in shaping the module.
Amroha is a city in north-western Uttar Pradesh. Known for the production of mangoes, this place is around 185 kilometres away from New Delhi. While 25.48 per cent of the population comprise of Hindus, Muslims make up for 73.80 of the population.
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The
town
of
Amroha
is
home
to
one
of
the
oldest
Mughal
Dynasty
settlements
in
India.
Naqvis
in
Sadaat
Amroha
arrived
from
Wasit,
Iraq
and
have
resided
in
the
town
of
Amroha
since
the
1190s
A.D.
Amroha
has
of
late
been
in
the
news
for
the
wrong
reasons.
It
may
be
recalled
that
earlier
this
year
in
September
2018,
the
Delhi
Police
had
arrested
two
Islamic
State
Jammu
and
Kashmir
operatives.
During their interrogation, it was learnt that they had sourced their weapons from Amroha.
Intelligence Bureau officials tell OneIndia that Amroha is shaping up to be the next Azamgarh. When the agencies were chasing the Indian Mujahideen, it was found that a bulk of the members were from Azamgarh. In fact if one traces the IM to its early days, it can be said that the outfit took shape in Azamgarh.
Two muftis, 2 welders and the making of India's largest ISIS inspired terror module
Azamgarh
had
become
a
hot
spot
for
terror.
Officials
say
the
atmosphere
in
Azamgarh
was
conducive
for
operatives
and
hence
they
were
able
to
carry
out
their
activities
and
return
there
safely
and
hide.
In
Amroha,
the
agencies
find
a
similar
trend.
In
the
latest
rounds
of
busts,
it
has
been
found
that
the
Moulvis
have
been
driving
the
modules.
In
one
recent
case
relating
to
a
Lashkar-e-Tayiba
module
in
Haryana,
it
was
found
that
funds
were
being
channelised
through
hawala
transactions,
which
a
Moulvi
oversaw.
Even in the raids that were conducted in Delhi and UP on Wednesday, it was found that there were two Muftis allegedly involved in the module. In Amroha it has been found that the Mosque and Madrasa networks were being used to radicalise people. This is a dangerous trend and if religious heads are getting into this actively, the problem is immense and they have plenty of followers, an IB official explained.
During the raids, the NIA had also arrested Saqib Iftekar ,26 who was working as Imam in Jama Masjid, Baksar, Uttar Pradesh. He helped the master-mind Mufti Mohd. Suhail in procuring weapons.
In the module that was busted on Tuesday, four of the members were from Amrohi. The NIA says that the one who led the module was Mufti Mohd Suhail alias Hazrath, 29 years. He is a native of Amroha and was working as Mufti in a Madrasa at Hakim Mahtab Uddin Hashmi Road, Amroha, UP. He was presently staying at Jaffrabad, Delhi, and had tasked other team members to procure arms, explosives and other accessories to prepare IED's and pipe-bombs.
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The other person from Amroha to be arrested was Saeed. He ran a welding shop in the place. Raees Ahmed, also from Amroha ran a welding shop. He along with his brother Saeed had procured huge quantity of explosive material/gun powder (approx.25 kg) for preparing IED's and pipe bombs and were instrumental in fabricating a rocket launcher to carry out terrorist attacks.
During the raids, the NIA also arrested one Mohammad Irshad from Amroha. An auto-rickshaw driver, he is accused of helping the rest of the module members.