NB Explains | Major bust in MP, ATS & IB arrests 16 members of Hizb-Ut-Tahrir radical group for running conversion racket

Bhopal, May 10: In a major bust, the Madhya Pradesh Anti-terrorist squad (ATS) in a joint operation with central intelligence agencies have arrested almost 16 youths who are allegedly associated with the radical Islamist group - Hizb-Ut-Tahrir (HuT) from Bhopal and Hyderabad.

 

 

 

 

This comes after the intelligence agencies were running this operation for more than three months. Reports suggest that 11 were arrested from Madhya Pradesh and 5 from Hyderabad.

 

 

Among those detained, one was identified as Mohammad Waseem, who works for an NGO and is the son of a renowned social activist for Bhopal Gas victims.

 

Three of the five persons arrested are converted to Islam. Besides, Mohammed Saleem, a faculty member at a prominent college of pharmacy, is said to be head of the department there, is among those who were picked up. He is a convert and a resident of Golconda. The other converts are Abdul Rahman and Abbas Ali.

 

 

 

The arrested included a gym trainer, teacher, auto driver, tailor, computer technician, businessman and software engineer, and claimed they used to organise secret combat training camps in forest areas. They received training from skilled trainers from Hyderabad.

 

Besides, they used to deliver provocative speeches at religious meetings and distribute religious literature to rope in more youths. They avoided regular channels of communication and used dark webs for conversation.

 

During the early morning operation, provocative literature, cash, electronic gadgets including more than a dozen cell phones were seized.

 

 

The outfit, which has already been banned in 16 countries, was founded in Jerusalem in 1952 and headquartered in London, the group has branches in Central Asia, Europe, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia, where it has managed to garner great influence.

 

In South Asia, Hizb-Ut-Tahrir has a significant presence in Pakistan and Bangladesh. It claims to have organised a demonstration in 2010 at Batla House in Delhi in protest against Israel's alleged atrocities. This was said to be one of the last reported Hizb-Ut-Tahrir activities in India, according to security experts. The detained individuals are being questioned for more details.

 

According to various agencies, Hizb-Ut-Tahrir has avoided global scrutiny radar while spreading its ideology, and was becoming a more dangerous ‘terrorist group’ than ISIS. India had inputs from global security agencies about its expansion plans, sources informed. HuT is alleged to have a support base in nearly 50 countries. It is also alleged that HuT has a seperate armed wing abroad that is training its cadres in chemical, bacteriological, and biological warfare.

 

In India, it is aiming to topple the democratic system and replace it with Sharia (Islamic law regime). They had identified big cities in India to commit violent incidents in crowded areas to create panic.

 

Besides, last year, several people were arrested from Bhopal for their alleged links with the banned group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, and jihadi literature and electronic devices seized from them.