Uttar Pradesh Police’s Special Task Force (STF) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) arrested a man named Javed Shaikh along with one of his companions from Muzaffarnagar’s Khalapar neighbourhood along with four time bombs on 16th February in a joint operation. Javed Shaikh had earlier revealed that a Muzaffarnagar resident by the name of Imrana gave the order to produce the explosive in exchange for money and the UP STF is now searching for her. His connection to Nepal was also disclosed when it was discovered that his mother was from the country.
According to evidence obtained by authorities during the investigation, this was not the first time Imrana got bombs made by Jadev. Imrana had ordered over 200 of these bombs in 2013 during the violence in Muzaffarnagar and distributed them during the unrest. The UP STF is digging into her motivation for commissioning the bottle timer bombs. The agencies conducted raids in Muzaffarnagar to catch her but she was not found there. Notably, the precise location and date of these explosives’ intended usage are only known to Imarana.
In addition to the bombs, other items recovered within the container belonging to the accused included cotton, POP, gunpowder (999) and small iron bullets. During the interrogation, he informed the authorities that Imrana told him to make the bombs for an amount of Rs 50,000. Furthermore, she already paid him Rs 10,000 and the rest of the money was to be handed over upon delivery but he was caught while he was on his way to provide her with the bombs.
The inquiry further revealed that Javed Shaikh learned to make bombs from his uncle Mohammad Arshi who lives in the Kotwali Nagar area of Ramleela Teela Police Station on Mimlana Road in Muzaffarnagar and makes fire crackers. He also utilised the assistance of the internet and YouTube videos to build the bombs.
The perpetrator confessed that the bombs were improvised explosive device (IED) bottle bombs, packed with cotton, POP, iron pellets, and gunpowder (999). He unveiled that he purchased iron nails from bicycle shops, glucose bottles from doctors and watchmaking equipment from watch stores.
“Two accused were arrested in Muzaffarnagar and four IEDs were recovered from them. All of these could be triggered through a remote control or timer. Those who built these bombs and have been arrested had built similar bombs and distributed them during the Muzaffarnagar riots. Both these accused are being questioned,” declared Uttar Pradesh Additional Director General of Police, Law & Order and state STF chief Amitabh Yash.
