Bengaluru blast accused sheltered in Maharashtra madrasa

The three fugitive members of the proscribed terror organisation — Students Islamic Movement of India — Shaikh Mehboob alias Guddu alias Malik, Amjad alias Dawood and Zakir Hussain alias Sadiq, who are allegedly behind last year’s Church Street blast, were reportedly given shelter in a madrasa in Maharashtra recently, said an official source.

“Few months ago the accused, who are members of SIMI’s Abu Faisal gang, were reportedly given shelter in a madrasa in a remote district in Maharashtra, from where they moved to Gujarat to escape the police and are on the run now. They will soon be caught as multiple state and Central agencies are tracking their movements,” added the officer. The blast case is being investigated by the National Investigation Agency.

According to unconfirmed reports, the three absconders, who have been on the run since their escape from Khandwa Central Jail in October 2013, have fled Maharashtra.

Mehboob, Amjad and Zakir are members of the notorious Abu Faisal’s gang. Seven members of the gang, including Faisal and the three fugitives, had escaped from Khandwa prison in a daring jailbreak.

While Faisal was arrested soon after, two others — Mohammed Aijazuddin and Mohammed Aslam were gunned down in April this year in Nalgonda district in Telangana in a joint operation by the Telangana special police force, Greyhounds and Organisation for Counter-terrorist Operation.

The Faisal gang is reportedly behind the Church Street blast case, which according to intelligence sources, was planned to protest against the arrest of alleged IS propagandist Mehdi Masroor Biswas in the city in December last year. “They are also behind last year’s train blast in Bangalore-Guwahati Express at Chennai Central station, which claimed an innocent life and injured several others. They are also allegedly involved in several cases of bank heists and dacoity,” the officer said.