Author: Times News Network
Publication: The Times of India
Date: July 13, 2006
In the five years that SIMI has been officially
banned, it has not only continued its activities in traditional strongholds,
but has successfully managed to expand its sphere of influence.
In its latest study on SIMI, the South Asia
Terrorism portal says, "In an age when 'zero-tolerance' is the declared
policy towards any terrorist challenge to India's security, the official response
has been marked by a typical mix of administrative lethargy, political opportunism
and lack of a coherent policy."
The September 2001 ban on SIMI was upheld
by the Supreme Court last week, particularly because the organisation has
left a trail of linkages - SIMI enjoyed a close working relationship with
the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) in Bangladesh and its students' wing, the Islami
Chhatra Shibir. Over the years, it has developed a new nexus with the Harkat-ul-Jehad-al
Islami Bangladesh, which is closely allied to Al Qaida.
The study says investigations into the July
28, 2005, Shramjeevi Express explosion near Jaunpur and the Varanasi serial
blasts of March 7,2006, pointed at SIMI ansar (full-time cadres) and HUJI-B
agents. The main accused in the Varanasi blasts, Waliullah, the Pesh Imam
of Phulpur in Allahabad, was a SIMI ansar.
Mohammad Zubair, a resident of Bahraich in
Uttar Pradesh, who was involved in the attacks in Varanasi's Sankatmochan
Temple and the railway station and was subsequently gunned down in Handwara
area of Kashmir, was also a SIMI cadre. Babu Bhai, the man behind the Shramjeevi
Express blasts near Jaunpur, was, again, a SIMI ansar who received training
at an ICS-run training camps in Ukhia, Bangladesh.
Despite the official ban, analysts point to
a continuous recruitment drive by SIMI cadre for HUJI-B in Jaunpur, Allahabad,
Kanpur, Lucknow, Ambedkar Nagar, Aligarh, Azamgarh, Sonauli, Ferozabad and
Hathras. Till the first quarter of the current year, SIMI old-timers like
Mohammad Aamir, Mohammad Salman, Mohammad Rehan and Shariq Fahim, most of
whom have spent time in Bangladesh, were in charge of such operations. SIMI
cadre, says the study, are also involved in safe transportation of explosives,
as well as the creation o channels for funds and securing safe houses for
HUJI-B terrorists.
The SIMI footprint if visible almost all over
the country from UP to Kerala. In fact, the numbers are growing as SIMI members
seem to merge with other outfits.
