The Uttar Pradesh police have said that two persons from Mewat in Haryana contacted a couple of residents of Shamli and Muzaffarnagar districts, but denied reports that the latter were Muzaffarnagar communal riot victims.
Neither were they involved in unlawful activities according to information available with the police, IG (Law and Order) Amrendra Kumar Sengar said on Tuesday.
Mr. Sengar refused to comment on whether the two persons from Mewat — Mohammad Rashid and Mohammad Shahid — were Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives. Interrogation revealed that they made an effort to initiate Jamil-ul-Islam and Liaquat into “jehadi activities,” he said.
Jamil-ul-Islam, a resident of Jalabad in Shamli, and Liaquat, a resident of Kulehrhi village in Muzaffarnagar, were picked up by a joint team of the Delhi and Muzaffarnagar police on January 2 and 3, 2014. They were let off after interrogation. Their statements under Section 161 of Cr.PC were recorded on Monday.
Mr. Sengar told journalists that the Mewat residents’ names surfaced during an investigation into a case filed by the Special Cell of the Delhi police on December 7, 2013 under Section 20 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code. Mohammad Rashid and Mohammad Shahid were subsequently arrested by the Delhi police and their interrogation revealed that they were in touch with two persons in Muzaffarnagar district, he said.
ATS team for Delhi
With the Delhi police seeking the support of their counterparts in Uttar Pradesh, Jamil-ul-Islam and Liaquat were located on January 2 and 3. They told the police that after being contacted by Mohammad Rashid and Mohammad Shahid they were called to Mewat to undertake some “civil repair work.” Though the nature of the work is not known, interrogation revealed that they tried to motivate Jamil-ul-Islam and Liaquat into jehadi activities, Mr Sengar said. “However, they did not undertake any such activity upon their return,” the IG (Law and Order) said.
Mr. Sengar said a team of the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) had left for Delhi.
