Days after Maulvi Sohail Abu Bakar Timol was arrested from Surat for conspiring to kill former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, another accused identified as Shakil Sattar Sheikh has been arrested by Surat Crime Branch from Nanded in Maharashtra. Meanwhile, a Pakistan connection of Maulvi Sohail Abu Baar Timol has emerged.
Reports say that Shakil Sheikh alias Raza was in touch with the Maulvi who conspired to kill Nupur Sharma and other Hindu leaders. The 19-year-old man is being interrogated by the Surat Crime Branch and will be brought to Surat.
Surat Crime Branch arrested Shakil from Maharashtra for conspiring the assassination plan of Hindu leaders including Nupur Sharma.
— Mr Sinha (Modi's family) (@MrSinha_) May 12, 2024
A total of 6 including 2 Maulavis have already been arrested.@CP_SuratCity has done a commendable job. @sanghaviharshpic.twitter.com/VQKOVBc19J
Before Shakil’s arrest in Nanded, the Surat Crime Branch arrested Nepali Shahnaz alias Mohammad Ali Mohammad Sabir in Muzaffarpur, Bihar. Following his arrest, he was brought before the court and sent on three days remand. When the officers checked his phone, they found Pakistani numbers. It is also suspected that he went to Pakistan earlier.
Notably, accused Shahnaz threatened four people on social media, including Sanatan Sangh National President Updesh Rana, Sudarshan News Channel Editor-in-Chief Suresh Chavanke, Hyderabad Hindu leader T Raja Singh, and Nupur Sharma, using a Nepali SIM card. Before that, the police questioned the cleric’s brother.
As reported earlier, Surat police arrested radical Islamic preacher Sohail Abu Bakar Timol on 4th May for threatening to kill Hindu activist Updesh Rana, who runs an organisation named ‘Sanatan Sangh’. He is a resident of Kathor area in Surat city of Gujarat. Surat Commissioner Anupam Singh Gehlot confirmed the development during a press conference. Besides working as a factory manager, Sohail serves as an Aalim (Islamic scholar) at a madrassa. He had threatened Updesh Rana over WhatsApp, following which a police complaint was filed against him.
Sohail was also planning to target ex-BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and Hyderabad MLA T Raja Singh. The Surat Police have also found anti-Hindu content on the mobile phone of the radical Islamic preacher. The accused was reportedly in touch with handlers in Nepal and Pakistan for 1.5 years, besides people based in Indonesia, Vietnam and Kazakhstan. He used to use gaming platforms to chat with his accomplices.
