Two members of the Al Qaeda-linked Ansar Ghazwatul Hind were apprehended by Uttar Pradesh police. The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) said the two men arrested – Minhaz Ahmed and Maseeruddin – were planning explosions across the state, including using “human bombs.”
According to the police, Ahmed lived in the Dubagga area of Lucknow, while Maseeruddin lived in the Madiyaon area of the Uttar Pradesh capital. Prashant Kumar, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order), told reporters that a large amount of explosive was seized from their homes.
They planned to “unleash terror activities in various cities across the state, including Lucknow, before August 15 (Independence Day),” Kumar said. Members of this module, according to the police official, are not only from Lucknow, but also from Kanpur in the state.
According to the ADGP, the accused were acting on the orders of Umar Halmandi, the head of Al-Uttar Qaeda’s Pradesh module.
The ATS is conducting raids in various locations in order to apprehend the two terrorists’ associates who escaped before Ahmed and Maseeruddin were apprehended.
Both Al-Qaeda operatives will be brought before a court and taken into custody by police.
Ahmed’s father owns a motor workshop in the neighbourhood where the family has lived for the past 15 years, according to a police officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The ATS recovered incriminating material from the house, which has now been sealed, including two semi-prepared IED-based pressure cooker bombs, explosive materials, and a pistol.
All vital installations in Uttar Pradesh, including airports, have been subjected to increased police scrutiny. Highway and bus station checks have been stepped up.
