Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) and Kanpur police jointly arrested a Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist from Chakeri area of Kanpur on Thursday. The arrested militant was reportedly planning an attack during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.
The arrested terrorist was has been identified as Qamar-uz-Zama, a 37-year-old resident of Sarak Pili village in Nagaon area, Assam was arrested on a tip-off from the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Uttar Pradesh’s Director General of Police (DGP), while addressing the media said that the ATS was tracking the terrorist for the last 8-10 days with NIA’s assistance. During interrogation, he confessed of having plans to attack the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi and said that he had gone for training to Kashmir in April 2017. He is of Indian nationality and is a literate person.
The DGP furthered that since April 2018, he was very active on social media. He had uploaded a photo in which he was seen carrying an AK-47.
“He came in contact with a terrorist called Osama, and then joined the Pakistan-based terror outfit- Hizbul Mujahideen in 2017. Thereafter he went through a training at a militant camp in Jammu and Kashmir. He had also spent his time in Philippines Palau Island from 2008 to 2011. He got married to a local Assamese girl and they have a son, said IG ATS Asim Arun.
In the initial round of questioning by UP police, the arrested terrorist also confessed to being an active member of Hizbul Mujahideen and accepted that he was in Kanpur for preparations of a terrorist attack.
Radical Islamic issues are not as frequently discussed as maybe insurgency issues in Kashmir but are of equal threat encompassing the country. Nation chooses to remain closemouthed about ISIS taking root in the country, and the silent battle India is fighting on that front.
Last year the country witnessed a barbaric attack on Hindu pilgrims who were returning after taking Darshan at the holy Amarnath temple in Kashmir. 3-5 Pakistan backed terrorists led by one Ismael belonging to the Lashkar-e-Taiba had opened fired at a bus carrying 60 Amarnath Pilgrims leading to the death of 7 pilgrims including 6 women and injured 19 more.
This year also, fearing that the terrorists might be planning a different form of attack to surprise the security forces which might include improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the devotees embarking on the Amarnath Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir were provided with a multi-layered high tech security by the government.
Update:
Related development in Assam
Immediately after the arrest of Qamar-uz-Zama, Assam police started a parallel investigation to find out about his activities in Assam. Yesterday Assam police arrested one Shahnawaj Alam from Hojai, Assam, who is close friend of Zama and suspected to have link with Hizbul. During investigation, it has been revealed that Hizbul has plan to instigate communal violence in the state in the name of NRC and Rohingya refugees. It has also been found that the terror organization has stepped up recruitment activities in Assam, with support from terror organizations based in Assam. A team of Assam Police led by a DSP has left for Kanpur to question Qamar uj Zama, while a UP police team is expected to visit Assam to investigate more about him.
Qamar’s mother disowns him
In a related development, mother of Qamar-uz-Zama has disowned her son for his anti-national activities. She told reporter that she has no love for her son who has gone against the nation. She added that even if her son is shot dead or sent to jail for life, she will have no regret.
