Police said Abdullah Danish managed to escape during a raid in 2001.
New Delhi:
A terrorist from the Islamic Student Movement of India who had been on the run for the past 19 years was arrested, Delhi police said in a statement. The 58-year-old defendant, Abdullah Danish, was “one of the most elusive members” of the SIMI terrorist group and was wanted for sedition in the national capital, a senior police officer from the special cell Pramod Singh Kushwah said in the statement. .
“Abdullah Danish was one of the most important SIMI members who indoctrinated many young Muslims in the past 25 years,” police said in the statement. “He was editor-in-chief of the Hindi version of SIMI magazine ‘Islamic Movement’ for four years,” police said.
Abdullah Danish is a resident of Mau in Uttar Pradesh and also has a home in UP’s Aligarh, police said. A trial court declared him the most wanted in 2002 and the police had been looking for him ever since.
High-ranking police officer Attar Singh of the special cell had been following Abdullah Danish’s movement in the National Capital Region and UP for the past year, police said. The SIMI terrorist worked to “radicalize Muslim youth to mobilize against the NRC and CAA and spread radical ideology to create discord among religious groups,” police said in the statement, referring to protests against the Registry. National Citizens and Citizenship (Amendment). Act.
Abdullah Danish allegedly distributed fake videos to show the government committing atrocities against Muslims, police said. “After strenuous efforts of more than a year, specific information about Abdullah Danish was received on December 5. On this basis, an assault group was formed and a trap was set near Zakir Nagar, Delhi, where Abdullah Danish was arrested. “Police said in the statement.
The SIMI was created in 1977 in Aligarh. It was banned by the government in 2001 for terrorist activities.
According to the police, Abdullah Danish did a master’s degree in Arabic studies from the Muslim University of Aligarh in 1985. “He became very radical after coming into contact with SIMI activists. After joining SIMI, Abdullah Danish began attending weekly programs of SIMI … Ashraf Jafri, then president of SIMI, appointed Abdullah Danish editor of the Hindi edition of SIMI magazine in 1988 … He had written many inflammatory articles by falsely highlighting the atrocities committed against Muslims in India, “he said. police.
During a raid on a SIMI hideout in Zakir Nagar, south Delhi, in 2001, Abdullah Danish managed to escape and went into hiding, police said. “He kept changing locations to evade arrest … Through Abdullah Danish, terrorist Abdus Subhan Qureshi met another terrorist Abu Bashar … They both planned and executed a series of explosions with the help of their other associates in Ahmedabad in 2008. Abu Bashar had visited and stayed at Abdullah Danish’s home in Aligarh after the Ahmedabad blasts, “police said in the statement.
.
