For long known as the hometown of arrested mobster Abu Salem, Saraimeer in Azamgarh district of UP has gained another distinction - as the place where three of the Delhi serial blast suspects hailed from.
LUCKNOW: For long known as the hometown of arrested mobster Abu Salem, Saraimeer in Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh has now gained another dubious distinction - as the place where three of the Delhi serial blast suspects hailed from.
"Atif and Sajid, who were gunned down in Delhi on Friday, and Mohd Saif, who was arrested, all belong to Sanjarpur locality in Saraimeer town," district Senior Superintendent of Police Ramit Sharma said.
The home of Atif, Sajid and Saif is only about 10 km from Beenapara village, where the residence of Abu Bashar - the alleged mastermind of the Gujarat serial bombings - is located, police said.
Atif, Sajid and Saif all hail from well-off families in Azamgarh, police added.
Saif, the son of local Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Shadab Ahmed, was arrested from the same suspected militant hideout in Delhi that was raided by police on Friday in connection with the blasts in the capital last week.
Ahmed, however, told journalists that police were trying to frame young, educated Muslim boys in false cases. "My son had gone to Delhi to study computers and he has been charged in this case," Ahmed said.
The families of Atif and Sajid have garment businesses in Saudi Arabia, police said. "The garment business is run by their (Atif and Sajid) brothers," said a police officer on condition of anonymity.
One of Atif's brothers is a photojournalist in a private news channel in Delhi but police declined to reveal his name.
According to police, family members of the terror suspects claim Atif, Sajid and Saif headed for Delhi about two years ago to build their careers.
While Saif had enrolled for an English speaking course and a computer training programme, Sajid and Atif opted to prepare for engineering examinations in Delhi, police here said.
The Delhi serial blasts at crowded market places last week killed 24 people and injured nearly 100.
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