Cuttack,17/12-A day after suspected al-Qaeda terrorist Abdul Rehman was arrested here, the Odisha Police launched anti-terror drives to thwart any possible terror attack in the State. While security has been braced up at various vulnerable locations, police stepped up surveillance of many suspicious institutions believed to have militant links.
As part of these measures, a joint team comprising both urban and rural police of Cuttack on Thursday scrutinised the activities of the madrasa at Tangi, which was run by Rehman as its head for past few years. The Cuttack District Education Officer (DEO) has been asked to submit a report detailing the activities of the madrasas running in the district.
Police detained three associates of Rehman, who are running the madrasa, for questioning. Commissioner of Police Dr RP Sharma said Rehman had links with a terrorist involved in the Glasgow International Airport attack in Scotland in 2007.
“The Delhi Police, in the course of its investigation, has come to know about the link of Rehman with Kafeel Ahmed, a Bengaluru-based youth, who succumbed to burn injuries in a failed attempt to ram an explosive-laden jeep into the Glasgow International Airport in Scotland in 2007,” said Sharma.
He said the Commissionerate Police has decided to form a special cell in line with the one in Delhi police to deal with exigencies.
He further said a case has been registered against Rehman by the Cantonment Police in Cuttack in connection with his involvement in an incident at the Sahi Masjid inside the Killa Fort in February 2011 and he was also arrested charge-sheeted. The case is now sub-judice.
Members of the Cuttack District Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and the Childline also on the day visited the Tangi madrasa to scan the conditions in which the students are being taught there. It was learnt that this madrasa has been running privately since 2013 without any proper recognition from the State Government.
Over 80 students aged between 10 and 15 years are studying at the madrasa. Barring three, the rest are from outside the State, most being from Jharkhand, said a member of the CWC.
“In a very precarious and unhygienic condition, the students are taught here without any systematic academic schedule,” the source said, adding that efforts would be made to contact their parents for repartition as the madrasa was running illegally.
Anxiety and unease writ large on faces of Paschima Kachha residents as the sleepy and nondescript village came under unprecedented media glare and police presence after Rehman was arrested from there.
A predominantly Muslim-dominated village, Paschima Kachha residents are still unable to believe the Rehman story even as his links with terror group al-Qaeda and his role in several terror attacks are now coming out. People of nearby villages are demanding a thorough scrutiny of the locality to identify any other likeminded elements.
Meanwhile, in the wake of Rehman’s arrest, the State Government has asked police to remain on high alert.
Home Principal Secretary Asit Tripathy said, “The Home Department has already given instructions to the State police to formulate a strategy to further strengthen its preparedness to counter urban terrorism. If necessary, we would revisit our plan of action to effectively deal with any terrorist act. We have two anti-terrorism squads under the Special Operation Group (SOG) and one squad under the Commissionerate Police. Considering the arrest of an al-Qaeda terrorist, we have to be more alert in the coming days.”
No comments:
Post a Comment