Prisoners with ISIS link assault jail staff in Hyderabad, three injured
The prisoners were charge-sheeted in December 2016 for hatching a conspiracy to `wage war against the country’ by collecting weapons and explosives and targeting public places and government buildings.
india Updated: Sep 16, 2017 23:24 IST
Hindustan Times, Hyderabad
Three men, arrested in the Hyderabad ISIS module case last year, allegedly assaulted three jail officials at the Chanchalguda central prison on Saturday.
Officials of the prisons department are learnt to have alerted the National Investigation Agency (NIA) besides lodging a complaint with the Hyderabad police on the incident.
Director General of Prisons V K Singh said the prisoners – Mohammed Ibrahim Yazdani, Mohammed Iliyas Yazdani and Mohammed Athaullah Rahman, who had been under high security cover, attacked the jail staff after a meeting with visitors.
The jail authorities granted permission to the prisoners to meet the visitors (said to be relatives) at noon. The meeting was over at 12:30 pm. Afterwards, while waiting at a wicket gate separating two sections to collect their belongings including bread, fruits and dry fruits brought by the visitors, the trio suddenly pushed a warder, entered the main gate area and “manhandled prison staff” while verbally abusing them, officials said.
“At that time, duty warder Bharat Kumar opened the Wicket Gate-II to take the other prisoners to send to out-courts. Suddenly, the three under trials prisoners pushed the duty warder and entered into the main gate by force and shouted abuses,” Singh said.
“Warder G Sampath suffered injury in the eye while the other staff suffered minor injuries,” the DG said.
Jail superintendent lodged a complaint with the Dabeerpura police. According to inspector D Venkanna Naik, a case has been registered under Indian Penal Code sections 332 (Voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) and 225 read with 34 (Resistance or obstruction to lawful apprehension of another person) and section 45 of the Prisons Act.
Thirty-one-year old Ibrahim (alias Ibbu) and Iliyas (25) are among the five youths arrested by the NIA in June 2016. Arrested along with them were Habeeb Mohammed, Abdullah Bin Ahmed Al Amoodi and Muzaffar Hussain Rizwan for their suspected links with ISIS.
Ibrahim, Iliyas and Amoodi were the leaders of a newly formed group that was allegedly planning attacks on InOrbit Mall and IT zone in Madhapur. The NIA seized two pistols, an air gun, target boards used for shooting practice and explosive substances (urea, acids and hydrogen peroxide) apart from Rs 15 lakh cash from the suspects.
The investigators found that they were taking guidance from key ISIS recruiter Shafi Armar, who was a former Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative based in Syria.
The NIA is likely to question the suspects and verify the background of their visitors.
