Khandwa jailbreak mastermind arrested

Khandwa jailbreak mastermind and activist of banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), Abu Faizal was on Tuesday arrested by Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the state police.

Faizal alias doctor was nabbed along with two others after an encounter at Sendhwa Pathar area of Barwani district early in the morning.

“They were taken into custody after a bloodless encounter,” said DGP Nandan Dubey. Three pistols, cartridges and Rs 1.35 lakh cash were seized from Fazal, Khalid Mohammed, a resident of Solapur, and Irfan Nagori, a resident of Mahidpur in Ujjain district.

“During interrogation, Fazal confessed to hatching a plot to kill Uttar Pradesh high court judges who had given verdict in Ram temple case,” Dubey said Fazal, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, used to operate from Mumbai. He was first arrested along with several other SIMI activists in June 2011 and lodged in Bhopal central jail before being shifted to Khandwa.

On intervening night of Sept 30 and Oct 1 this year, he  orchestrated a sensational escape from Khandwa jail along with six other SIMI activists lodged there. However, one of them was later arrested.

According to DGP, after his escape, he had kept shuttling between Madhya Pradesh and neighbouring states to evade arrest.

 The DG, however, refused to divulge more details about the arrest and said the police were on lookout for Faizal’s accomplices.