Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday arrested three more alleged terrorists of Al-Qaeda-linked Ansar Ghazwatul Hind, a senior official told news agency ANI. The latest arrests come days after the Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) in Uttar Pradesh’s capital Lucknow busted an Al Qaeda module and nabbed two terrorists who were reportedly planning a suicide terror attack.
The three terorrists– Shakeel, Mustakeem, and Mueed — were associated with Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind. All of them are residents of Lucknow, the Uttar Pradesh ATS said.
“Their names came into light during questioning of the two terrorists arrested from Lucknow on July 11,” they said.
“On the basis of information by two terrorists arrested on July 11, we arrested three more people. They admitted their crime and connections with the gang during interrogation. They will be produced before court,” said Prashant Kumar, ADG, Law and order, Uttar Pradesh.
“Their motive was to carry out terrorist activities, which could inflict damage to life and property. They sought to create panic in the society,” he added.
Al Qaeda Module Busted in UP: What we Know so Far
An alert was sounded across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh as the ATS and state police officials were searching for others involved in the terror strike plan.
A team led by IG ATS, G.K. Goswami, had closed in on their location last Saturday and arrested the two from a house in Dubagga area of Kakori, Lucknow on Sunday. An alert was issued in the Lucknow Commissionerate area, Hardoi, Sitapur, Barabanki, Unnao and Rae Bareli districts and western Uttar Pradesh over the presence of terrorists.
The ATS had recovered suspicious material including two pressure-cooker bombs, a detonator, and 6 to 7 kilograms of explosives from the house where they detained the terrorists.