The Hindu : National : ‘Madrasa’ teacher detained by SIT

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‘Madrasa’ teacher detained by SIT

Special Correspondent

He allegedly made international calls before blasts
Former State SIMI chief is one of the suspects in custody

JAIPUR: In its continued crackdown on Muslim youth in connection with the May 13 serial blasts in Jaipur that claimed 66 lives, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Rajasthan police has detained a ‘madrasa’ teacher in Bharatpur and seized his laptop, mobile phone, personal diary and other articles from his house.

The detainee, identified as Mohammed Ilyas, runs a ‘madrasa’ near Kumher Gate in Bharatpur. He was brought here on Monday for interrogation. Investigators were trying to ascertain whether he had made “suspicious” international calls from his mobile phone before the blasts and stored incriminating material in his computer.

Panic gripped the Kumer Gate area when about 30 policemen raided the teacher’s house at midnight after calling him to the city police station. Eyewitness accounts alleged that the policemen ransacked the house while looking for suspicious objects.

Inspector-General of Police Laxman Meena, who heads SIT, confirmed to The Hindu on Wednesday that Mr. Ilyas was in custody. “SIT investigators are grilling him but he has so far not given any substantial information linking him with the crime. We have not yet formally arrested him,” he said.

Mr. Meena said two other youths were also picked up from outside the ‘madrasa’ but they were let off after questioning. While SIT has not revealed the total number of persons detained, a former State president of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), Mohammed Sajid, is one of the prime suspects in its custody. However, his alleged links with the perpetrators of the blasts have not been established.

Mr. Sajid, who runs the primary-level Ayesha Siddiqua Madrasa at Udai Kalan village in Sawai Madhopur district, was the SIMI State chief before it was banned several years ago. SIT officers earlier assured his family members that he would be released after his mobile phone’s call details were confirmed.

Others picked up for questioning include Muslim youth from Sikar and Sawai Madhopur districts as well as the Ramganj and Subhash Chowk areas in the Walled City.

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