On 13th September, two suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorists were arrested from Gaya district in Bihar. One of the terrorists named Tauseef Khan, was even reportedly an accused in the 2008 Ahmadabad blasts where 56 people were killed and more than 200 were injured. Another arrested was named Shane Khan but two of their accomplices managed to evade the police.
These terrorists were not caught as a result of intelligence reports, but due to the heroics of a cyber cafe owner named Anurag Basu.
According to reports, these 4 terrorists regularly visited a cyber cafe and used the system for lengthy periods. The cyber cafe owner Anurag Basu who also edits a monthly socio-political named Saf Swar, used to demand Aadhar cards as identification but the terrorists refrained from doing so.
One day, when the terrorists again refused to provide their identification, Anurag informed the police. After they left the cafe on a cycle-rickshaw, Anurag, a third degree black belt in karate, followed them and managed to catch Tauseef and Shane to hand them over to the police.
As a result, Anurag was hailed as a hero and Gaya senior superintendent of police (SSP) Garima Mallick claimed they would felicitate him.
But far from having the time of his life, Anurag is now having to scrounge for funds as his heroics have now left him broke.
As reported, his cyber cafe business has now become crippled as the customers are fearing retaliation from the terrorists. Such a fear might be compounded by the fact that the 2 other accomplices of these terrorists might still be free.
Apart from the customers, 4 of Anurag’s employees too deserted him for the same reason. His total customers have come down from about 60-80 to virtually zero and as a result, the income too has nosedived from the earlier figures of Rs 30,000-40,000 per month.
On top of it, advertisements in his magazine Saaf Swar too have dried up and he doesn’t have the required funds to either pay his contributors or print the magazine.
Due to his financial crisis he is reportedly finding his difficult to pay for his son’s school fees and the monthly rent of his house and cafe. As a result of the troubles, the pride has waned and his wife now describes the whole incident as a misadventure.
The police on the other hand, rather than helping him, is giving him further hardships. First it took away his master computer in the cyber cafe for its investigations and then even has him (Anurag) going regularly to the authorities for questioning. But even after all the hardships, patriotism and the zeal to serve his country hasn’t diminished in Anurag, who is a son of a retired armyman and the brother of a Kargil war hero.
Many people were moved by his struggles and implored public figures to somehow help or facilitate his aid:
Guys please get his details and help him.. https://t.co/q5DAPZtNk7
— Jon Yadav (@AndColorPockeT) October 2, 2017
Twitter celebs followed by PM, please try to help him https://t.co/xYz7cD7vH0
— दिव्या (@divya_16_) October 2, 2017
@girirajsinghbjp ,@SushilModi sir, pls help to secure his details.we will raise funds for him. https://t.co/amBfNVMOtv
— Rishabh Pandey (@RishabhPandey5) October 2, 2017
It remains to be seen how things pan out for Anurag but such incidents unfortunately might make any good Samaritan think twice before doing a kind or heroic deed.
