 "Lucknow encounter confirms Islamic State threat to India is near and real")
The Madhya Pradesh Police on Tuesday blamed the Islamic State for the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train which injured nine people. Closely connected to this attack was the 12-hour long encounter in Lucknow, in which the Uttar Pradesh ATS gunned down a suspected terrorist linked to the Khoarasan module of the Islamic State.
ISIS Khorasan module terrorist gunned down in Thakurganj operation that lasted for nearly 10 hrs, visuals from the room where he was present pic.twitter.com/epZ924enUq
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017
“After opening the doors of the house (where the terrorist was holed up), the force went inside and found the suspect dead along with weapons,” Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Daljit Chaudhary said. “At one point of time, it appeared that more than one person was holed up inside the house,” he added. An ISIS flag along with eight pistols, 650 rounds of ammunition, 50 fired rounds, explosives were recovered from the spot. The ATS also recovered gold, cash, passports, SIM cards and a train timetable were found along with the suspect’s body, the India Today reported.
Thakurganj: Pistol, revolver, ammunition, knife recovered among other things from the killed ISIS Khorasan module terrorist #LucknowTerrorOp pic.twitter.com/Zek26wJAUz
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017
NDTV quoted ATS squad member Aseem Arun as saying that the anti-terror outfit had tried to contact the slain terrorist Saifullah’s brother in an attempt to persuade him to surrender without any bloodshed. However, Saifullah refused to surrender, choosing “martyrdom”. The Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh police have arrested five members out of the eight to nine members of the Khorasan module so far, NDTV reported. As the cloud over the encounter is clearing, more details of the Khorasan module’s modus operandi are coming out. According to a report in India Today, all the suspects were in constant touch with their Islamic State handlers through social media. The police, on the other hand, had been keeping a close eye on their activities online. Family of Shafiullah shocked Regretting Shafiullah’s actions, Sartaj, his father, has refused to accept his body. Another relative expressed shock, stating that his radicalisation was totally unexpected.
#WATCH: Sartaj, father of Saifulla says,"Ye desh-hitt mein nahi tha hum usse naraz hain,aise deshdrohi ki laash nahi lenge" #LucknowTerrorOp pic.twitter.com/bGMxHlokJM
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017
Everyone is shocked.He was well behaved;performed Namaz 5 times. We did not expect this: Relative of Saifulla killed in #LucknowTerrorOp pic.twitter.com/uVXeZu8q7j
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017
Impact Shorts
More ShortsPolitical reactions to the encounter Home Minister Rajnath Singh is expected to give a statement on the issue.
#LucknowEncounter -.@rajnathsingh to give a statement in Parliament tomorrow on Bhopal-Ujjain Train blast and IS-inspired module in Lucknow pic.twitter.com/f9hLBxflqu
— News18 (@CNNnews18) March 8, 2017
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday said that the perpetrators of Bhopal-Ujjain train bomb explosion were influenced by ISIS ideology and the incident was a “trial blast” as the terrorists planned to carry out more attacks. Speaking in Madhya Pradesh Assembly, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that those who orchestrated the blast arrived from Lucknow and planted the bomb in the passenger train as part of a “pre-planned conspiracy”. Congress, on the other hand, attacked the ruling BJP on the security situation just on the election eve.
If it can happen on election eve,where can it not?Situation is so serious that neither PM nor HM has control of things-Chacko #LucknowAttack pic.twitter.com/4gO2TW4MrO
— ANI (@ANI) March 8, 2017
On eve of election,when PM is criss-crossing the state,all VIPs in UP;how can it happen?Where is intelligence?-PC Chacko,Cong #LucknowAttack pic.twitter.com/hXeNqysw1D
— ANI (@ANI) March 8, 2017
Reacting to Congress leader PC Chacko’s criticism, Bihar BJP leader Giriraj Singh slammed him for questioning the encounter.
कांग्रेसी PC Chako आतंकवादी का आतंकवादी होने का सबूत माँग रहे है ।
— Shandilya Giriraj Singh (@girirajsinghbjp) March 8, 2017
मेरी उनसे गुज़ारिश है की आतंकवादी का देशभक्त होने का ही सबूत दे दें ।
With inputs from PTI
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