All passports in Deoband, Muzaffarnagar to be probed over suspected terror links

The police suspects that several members of the Pakistan and Bangladesh-based terror outfits are hiding in Deoband and the adjoining area.

Muzaffarnagar: The Uttar Pradesh Police has issued a new directive which calls for verification of thousands of passports in Deoband and its neighbouring districts of Saharanpur and Muzaffarnagar over alleged terror links.

The directive was issued following the arrest of two suspected Bangladeshi terrorists who had managed to get Indian passports showing Deoband addresses. 

The police suspects that several members of the Pakistan and Bangladesh-based terror outfits are hiding in Deoband – home to Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband.

Media reports said on Tuesday that the state government has directed the District Magistrates to take action against all the Bangladeshi nationals living illegally after the arrest of the two Bangladeshi terrorists.

The state government has also called for strict action against those officials who are found guilty of issuing fake ID cards for Bangladeshi nationals during their illegal stay here.

The verification is also being done in view of reports that some local policemen may be aiding the alleged Bangladeshi terrorists in securing the Indian passports.

“It’s not only about Deoband or any particular community. The verification of passport holders will take place in entire Muzaffarnagar and Saharanpur owing to inputs we have received that a few terror modules could be hiding in the area,” Saharanpur DIG KS Emmanuel was quoted by saying by media reports.

The Saharanpur DIG said that the action is being taken since several men ''with questionable credentials'' were found in the city on many occasions in the past.

The top cop also revealed that the two suspected Bangladeshi terrorists had got their passports made in Saharanpur. 

A Bangladeshi national Abdullah Al-Mamon was arrested from Muzaffarnagar in August this year.

Mamon, who is suspected to be a member of banned terror outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), is believed to have stayed in Deoband for several years. 

In October, a team of UP ATS had conducted raids at Saharanpur lodging of another absconding terror suspect Faizan Ahmad and recovered Islamic State literature.

Since then, nearly 20 suspected Bangladeshi nationals have gone missing in Western UP, a report said.