JOIN USTwo former Jamia boys work for AQIS
Two former students of Jamia Millia Islamia are part of al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and currently operating in Pakistan’s Waziristan region, said Arvind Deep, Special CP, Delhi Police (Special Cell) to Deccan Herald.
Rehan, 26, and Serjil, 22, went to Pakistan via Iran with AQIS chief Mohammad Asif in June 2013, and stayed there while Asif returned.
“Rehan and Serjil went with Asif to Pakistan to become members of AQIS. They both were students of Jamia at one point of time. We are not sure about which course they were enrolled in and in which year they were studying in Jamia. We are going to write a letter to the Jamia officials to get all the details about them,’’ said Deep.
Asif first came in contact with Serjil who, like him, is from Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh, and motivated him to become part of his larger plans. When Serjil went to Delhi for his studies, he met Rehan and soon they started interacting with each other about jihad and radical Islam.
Asif was influenced by the writings of Maulana Asim Umar, who was anointed as the Amir of AQIS, and also was his distant relative from Sambhal, and soon established contact with Qasim, a deputy of Maulana Asim Umar through a social media site, according to police.
“Asif, Serjil and Rehan were in close contact with each other and used to interact via Yahoo messenger. They were regularly getting information and jehadi literature from Qasim. After some time Qasim asked Asif to make a visit to Pakistan and extended an invitation on behalf of Maulana Asim Umar,” Deep added.
Rehan, a resident of northeast Delhi’s ‘Welcome’ area had become close to Asif via Serjil. Asif asked both Rehan and Serjil to accompany him to Pakistan.
Interrogation of Mohammad Asif, Zafar Masood and Mohammad Abdul Rehman, the three AQIS operatives who were arrested by Delhi Police’s Special Cell this week is at a preliminary stage only. Lot of details about their plans in India is still need to be uncovered.
“Their motives were to recruit locals here and send them to Pakistan for training. AQIS goal is to have presence in the entire Indian subcontinent. Whether they also had some short term goals needs to be explored,” Deep said.
Jamia Milia Islamia, however, refused to comment whether Rehan and Serjil were their alumni or not.
“We don’t comment on unverified reports. Jamia is a secular institution with a rich history in nation building,” said Jamia spokesperson Mukesh Ranjan.