Muzaffarnagar: Rukhsar (27) is trying to feed her child at her doorstep. In between, she keeps craning her neck to see if her father has returned. The family has been on edge since police arrested Rukhsar’s mother Imrana (60) on 18 February for her alleged involvement with a nexus suspected of manufacturing, storing and distributing time bombs.
Her arrest came a day after police picked up a man, Javed Sheikh (27), in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar allegedly in possession of time bombs. At the time of his arrest, Javed told the police that he was on his way to deliver four time bombs to Imrana.
Police said in a statement earlier that Imrana told them during initial interrogation that rioters set her house on fire during the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots, which is why she wanted to keep time bombs in her possession in case her family was faced with similar violence in the future.
Family members said Imrana suffered a heart attack six months ago following the death of her 20-year-old son. Rukhsar and her father, Azad Israel, are now afraid of losing Imrana who they say is a heart patient. The family runs a dairy business.
“Why would a 60-year-old woman, a heart patient, want bombs? The police found nothing on her. We are scared that she (Imrana) will die in prison,” said Rukhsar. “I am also worried because my father is not doing well. He has been so tense these days,” she added.
Imrana has been in jail for the last nine days. Police said they suspect her of being part of a nexus that was planning to “launch attacks” and cause “riots”.
Police sources, however, told ThePrint there are no past cases against Imrana and that the exact motives behind her alleged actions are still under investigation.
The four bombs that police allegedly seized from Javed consisted of bottles containing gunpowder, iron balls, plaster of Paris, and cotton. The bottles had timers attached to them for control over the timing of the explosions. Police sources added that Javed allegedly procured glucose bottles and chemicals to make analogue clock-based timer bombs. The bombs work on the delay mechanism, with the delays ranging from 1 to 59 minutes.
Police sources also said that they suspect Javed planned on manufacturing and distributing 300 such bombs, and Imrana was the “broker” or agent tasked with facilitating the deals.
It is, however, not known who her clients were or when Imrana started ‘dealing in bombs’.
Sources in the UP Special Task Force (STF), which made the arrests, said Javed allegedly supplied Imrana with a makeshift bomb in the aftermath of the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots, adding that they suspect she may have also procured explosives from Deoband in the past.
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2013 riots & key questions
Contradicting their earlier statement about why Imrana may have been involved with the nexus, senior Muzaffarnagar police and STF officers later denied that her rioters had burnt down her house in 2013, calling Imrana’s claim “unfounded”.
There is no record of any such case, police sources told ThePrint, raising a key question: why would the 60-year-old stock up on time bombs all these years later.
On the other hand, Imrana’s family refuted the allegations levelled against her. Her daughter Rukhsar and husband Azad claimed that Javed and a “police informer” framed her.
About the claims that their house was attacked by rioters in 2013, Imrana’s family contested the police version. Laying out pictures of their charred house, Rukhsar told ThePrint, “Look at these pictures — police officers are checking the house out.”
Recalling the 2013 riots, Rukhsar added, “We were in our native village in Banti Khera for a wedding at the time. Three to four days into the riots, someone informed us that rioters had burned down the house. But we could come back here after 20-25 days only since the area was under curfew. When we returned, we found nearly the whole house destroyed.”
The first floor of the family home still has signs of the 2013 attack. “We could never manage the money to carry out all the repairs,” said Azad.
Neighbours too concurred with the family’s version of what might have happened in 2013. “Their house completely burned down,” said Manoj Bansal, who runs a grocery shop nearby. Bansal told ThePrint that Imrana’s house is the only Muslim house in the locality.
“There used to be another (Muslim) family here, but they left after the (2013) riots,” added Rukshar.
Unlike several Muslim families who migrated out of Muzaffarnagar and nearby riot-affected areas in the aftermath of the communal violence in 2013, Imrana’s family decided to stay back. “Why will she want revenge after 11 years or bombs now?” Azad asked.
‘Larger nexus’ under the lens
Though the police indicated that Imrana and Javed knew each other for several years, family members of both claimed the families do not know each other personally.
“We never interacted with Javed. He was known to someone we call uncle but is not a relative. We know him because he belongs to the same village as our relatives,” said Rukhsar.
Javed’s sister-in-law Husnara too said the family does not know Imrana.
Police sources, meanwhile, alleged that Imrana paid an advance of Rs 10,000 to Javed for the time bombs, adding that a deal was brokered for a total of Rs 40,000.
Javed, police added in a statement, learned how to make crude bombs while working at his uncle’s firecracker factory.
“He was a pyrotechnics expert. Over time, he groomed his skills. He also watched YouTube videos and repaired e-rickshaws. He learned how to fix the timers and all from there,” a senior police officer said on condition of anonymity when asked about Javed’s antecedents.
According to police sources, they are now investigating if the two are part of a “larger nexus” and who Imrana was allegedly procuring the time bombs for.
Given that his mother and her family live in Kathmandu, Javed’s Nepal connection is also under the lens, it is learnt. “We have the accused’s mobile phones and are checking the devices. Further investigation is on,” said Muzaffarnagar SSP Abhishek Singh.
Back in her locality, residents found it hard to believe that Imrana may have been involved in brokering deals for the supply of explosives. “We have known them for 25 years. The family did not leave the area even after their house was burnt down. Imrana is 60. Why would she want bombs, and that, too, now, after so many years?” asked a neighbour.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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