- One of the Ujjain-Bhopal train blast suspects Saifullah was killed by UP ATS in Lucknow’s Thakurganj area
- Three others were arrested in areas around Kanpur on Wednesday
- UP police officials had earlier claimed that Saifullah and others were linked to an active ISIS module
- Later, ATS ADG Daljeet Choudhary said that there was no evidence to prove the ISIS link
- Saifullah’s father has refused to accept his body and called him a “traitor”
Lucknow Encounter Likely to Be Given to NIA for Probe
The investigation into the encounter in Lucknow, where a suspected ISIS terrorist was killed, is likely to be handed over to the NIA, a senior Home Ministry official said on. Wednesday.
In all likelihood, the Lucknow case will be given to the National Investigation Agency for probe, the official said.
The move came after the Home Ministry officials got the hint that there maybe a much larger conspiracy and more people in multiple locations might have links with Saifullah, who was killed in the encounter.
An NIA team has reached Bhopal to look into the suspected terror attack.
Saifullah was Self-Radicalised, Says UP ATS
At a media briefing on Wednesday, ATS ADG Law and Order Daljeet Choudhary said that the authorities have no evidence to link the suspected terrorists – Imran, Danish, Saifullah and Faisal – to any active module of the ISIS.
We have no information that links the four to any active ISIS module. From our initial investigations, we suspect the four were self-radicalised through material they found on social media.
He also revealed that the four wanted to identify themselves as the ISIS Khoran Moudle and that they learned to make bombs using online resources.
Won't Accept a Traitor's Body, Says Saifullah's Father
Sartaj, the father of the suspected ISIS terrorist who was killed in an anti-terror operation near Lucknow, said on Wednesday that he did not want anything to do with Saifullah’s mortal remains.
Saifullah was killed in a house on the outskirts of Lucknow after a 12-hour long operation by the Uttar Pradesh’s unit of the Anti Terrorism Squad. An Islamic State flag, eight pistols, 650 rounds of ammo, gold, SIM cards, cash, passports, a train timetable and explosive materials were seized from the house where Saifullah was holed up.
Expressing disappointment at his son’s actions, Sartaj said that he could not accept “a traitors body.”
Links with Bhopal-Ujjain Train Blast
Police suspect that Saifullah was involved in the 7 March blast in a Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train.
Speaking to the media, UP’s Additional Director General of Police said that Saifullah was a “hardened criminal,” who fired around 60 rounds of ammo on the commandos.
The anti-terror operation was being monitored by senior officials. After opening the doors of the house (where the terrorist was holed up), the force went inside and found the suspect dead along with his weapons.