Odisha police take SIMI terrorists on 7-day remand, to quiz at Bhubaneswar

BHUBANESWAR: While a local court has allowed seven days remand of five arrested terrorists of banned outfit Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), the Odisha police have decided to interrogate them with NIA and other agencies at Bhubaneswar.

The Rourkela Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) court on Wednesday night allowed police to take the SIMI terrorists on seven-day remand against the appeal of police for 15-day remand.

The National Investigating Agency (NIA), Special Task Force (STF) of Odisha Crime Branch and Police from other states will be interrogating the five arrested terrorists to unearth vital information on their terrorist activities spread across the country, said DGP KB Singh.

Singh said the terrorists would be brought to Bhubaneswar where interrogation will be conducted.
Meanwhile, an eight-member team led by Crime Branch Special Task Force IG Arun Bothra reached Rourkela and started probe.

The investigating agency has started quizzing the arrested terrorists Mehboob Khan alias Guddu, Zakhir Khan alias Sadiq, Amjad Khan alias Dawood, Saliq alias Sallu and Najma (Mehboob’s Mother) to Bhubaneswar amid tight security.

Sources said police officials of neighbouring Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Intelligence Bureau (IB) had reached the State to interrogate the five.

In a 3-hour-long operation ending in the wee hours on Wednesday, a joint team of Special Operations Group (SOG), Telangana Police, Rourkela Police and Intelligence Bureau raided a house in Qureshi Mohalla in Rourkela and arrested the five.