Police raid UP village for terror suspects

LUCKNOW: A joint team of the Delhi Police and the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of Uttar Pradesh police on Tuesday raided Sanjarpur village in the state's eastern Azamgarh district, where five of the nabbed suspects allegedly behind the Sep 13 serial bombings in New Delhi hailed from.

The raids took place in the Sarai Meer block of Azamgarh district. Two terror suspects - Atif and Sajid - gunned down in a shootout in Delhi for their involvement in the serial blasts - were natives of Sanjarpur in Azamgarh, 270 km from here. The third suspect - Saif - who was held in the national capital also hailed from the village.

Delhi Police says that all 13 suspected terrorists allegedly behind the Delhi bombings, which claimed 24 lives, and the July 26 Ahmedabad blasts whick killed 53 people are from Sarai Meer.

"We are looking for Arif, Sajid, Salman and Khalid, who are suspected to be involved in the blasts," a member of the raiding team said on condition of anonymity.

Police are also reportedly scanning Atif's bank account in Pawai town of Azamgarh.

"Initial scanning has revealed that a transaction of Rs.3 crore (Rs.30 million) took place just before the blasts," the source added.

Local police in Azamgarh said they did not know details of the raid, but were providing assistance.

"We are not clear about the motive of the raid and the local police are only providing force for assistance," Superintendent of Police (Azamgarh) Ramit Sharma said.