The Delhi Police in its chargesheet filed against 17 suspected Al Qaeda operatives, has said that the Indian youths were provoked by the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition and were moved by atrocities on Muslims in India especially the Godhra (Gujarat) and Babri Masjid issues.
According to the Delhi Police, the accused were committed to establish a base of terror outfit Al Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS)
One suspected operative Maulana Syed Anzar Shah who has been working as a maulvi in Illias Nagar Banaglore while discussing provoked youths by delivering Jehad speeches in various mosques. He met Mohd Umar and they discussed the atrocities on Muslims in India especially about the Godhra (Gujarat) and Babri Masjid issues. Umar got impressed and committed himself to receive arms and ammunition training from Pakistan.
Another accused Mohd Abdul Rehman, who was arrested from Odisha disclosed that he took admission in Darul-Uloom, Deoband in Uttar Pradesh and completed PHD in Arabic and hadees. During this period he studied a lot of material related to babri Masjid demolition, Gujarat riots etc.
He later met one Salim, a resident of Pakistan, and took him to Cuttack where the activities of Jaish-e-Mohd outfit were discussed. Salim told him that he had been sent to India to take revenge of babri Masjid demolition and was planning an attack in Ayodhya.
The chargesheet stated that some of them had also gone to Pakistan and had met Jamat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, lashkar-e-Taiba (leT) chief Zaki-ur-Rehman lakhvi.
"While delivering jehadi speeches in various mosques, he (arrested accused Syed Anzar Shah) met Mohd Umar (one of the absconding accused) and they discussed atrocities on Muslims in India, especially Godhra and Babri Masjid issues. Umar got impressed with his jehadi ideology and speeches and committed himself to the cause of jehad and expressed the desire to receive arms/ammunition training from Pakistan," the charge sheet filed before Additional Sessions Judge Reetesh Singh said. It said that Umar was operating from Pakistan.
Police said arrested accused Abdul Rehman had provided safe hideouts in India to Pakistani militants Salim, Mansoor and Sajjad, all members of Jaish-e-Mohammed, who were later killed in a shootout in Uttar Pradesh in 2001.
The police named in its charge sheet 17 accused, 12 of whom are absconding, for allegedly conspiring, recruiting Indian youths and establishing a base of AQIS here.
In its final report, the agency has charged five arrested accused -- Mohd Asif, Zafar Masood, Mohd Abdul Rehman, Syed Anzar Shah and Abdul Sami -- for alleged offences under the provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
All the 17 accused were listed in the charge sheet for alleged offences under sections 18 (punishment for conspiracy), 18-B (punishment for recruiting of any person for terror act) and 20 (punishment for being member of terror organisation) of the UAPA. The accused were arrested between December 2015 and January 2016 from different parts of the country.