The arrest of Sajid Gulam Khwaja Mansoori, a top member of the banned Simi from Bharuch played a crucial role in helping the police apprehend others involved with Ahmedabad's serial blasts.
SURAT: The arrest of Sajid Gulam Khwaja Mansoori, a top member of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (Simi) from Bharuch last Saturday played a crucial role in helping the police apprehend others involved with Ahmedabad's serial bomb blasts in and Surat's bomb planting cases.
Highly positioned sources claim that he was the main conspirator behind the devious plot and added that he was also Simi's zone chief for Gujarat. A humanities graduate, Sajid joined the Simi in 1996-97 and was an active member of the outfit till his arrest.
Originally hailing from Surat, he used to reside in Talwadi area under the Salabatpura police station with his father, brother and a sister. His father was a power loom worker and his brother was a health worker at the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC).
Sources said that prior to his joining Simi in 1996-1997, he was a recovery agent of Barkat bank.
He became a hardliner after joining the infamous group, and as an active member from Gujarat, he participated in Simi camps in other states besides taking up the task for strengthening its base in Gujarat.
Sources said that he was actively involved in the recruitment of young cadres from Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat.
A Simi meeting which was held at Surat's Rajshree hall in 2001 under the banner of the non-existent All India Minority Education Board Delhi was Sajid's initiative. It was attended by members from Maharasthra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Gujarat. Police had raided the spot and arrested 123 Simi activists; however, Sajid managed to give them the slip and went underground.
From 2001 onwards, he was in Ahmedabad and Vadodara, engaged in the phenyl business for three years in Ahmedabad and later, in the sale of tea and sugar in Vadodara for another four years.
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