UP ATS declares reward of Rs 25,000 each for 2 Aligarh Muslim University students ‘linked to IS’

Identified as Abdul Samad Malik and Faizan Bakhtiyar, the 2 students 'who are currently absconding', are allegedly part of an Islamic State terror module functioning in the university.

The gate to the Aligarh Muslim University | Commons

Aligarh: The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad (UP ATS) Friday declared rewards of Rs. 25,000 each on the heads of two absconding students of the Aligarh Muslim University, who have been accused of recruiting other students on social media for the Islamic State.

UP ATS additional director general (ADG) Mohit Agarwal told ThePrint that the two students, identified as Abdul Samad Malik and Faizan Bakhtiyar, “are part of an Islamic State module functioning in the Aligarh Muslim University”.

“The identity of these two students was revealed by IS operatives arrested by the ATS in November. These operatives were connected to the Pune-based IS module operated by Shahnawaz, who had been arrested by the Delhi Police.

Shahnawaz, alias Shafi Uzzama, was arrested along with two other suspected IS terrorists — Mohammed Arshad Warsi and Mohammed Rizwan Ashraf — in October.

Following their arrest, in November, UP ATS arrested seven suspected IS operatives from different parts of the state.

According to Agarwal, Ashraf had been working for Saqib Nachan, “the principal operative of IS in Maharashtra”. “Fifteen suspected members of Nathan’s gang were picked up by the NIA [National Investigation Agency] in November, which helped unravel the entire nexus of IS in India,” he added.

It is alleged by the ATS that Malik and Bakhtiyar had been running a mini IS module in the VM Hall hostel of the AMU.

An AMU faculty member ThePrint spoke to, however, denied knowledge of the ongoing investigation in the matter.

Members of Students of Aligarh Muslim University 

The ATS had in November arrested two former AMU students, Max Bin Tariq and Abdullah Arsalan, from Aligarh. The two had allegedly joined the IS virtually and had then been “indoctrinated into the IS terror module by a former AMU student, Mohd. Wajihuddin, who runs a coaching institute in the city”.

Wajihuddin was arrested by the UP ATS on 7 November from Chhattisgarh.

It is alleged that apart from recruiting new students for the IS, Wazihuddin had been planning to orchestrate major terror acts throughout the country.

All the AMU students and former students arrested so far in the case, including the absconding Malik and Bakhtiyar, are allegedly part of the organisation, Students of Aligarh Muslim University (SAMU), a splinter alumni organisation of the Aligarh Muslim University which police sources say has been on the ATS radar for several months for its alleged IS links. The organisation allegedly aimed to establish Khilafat and Sharia law in India.

According to Agarwal, during interrogation by the ATS Wajihuddin revealed the names of Malik and Bakhtiyar, but both are on the run.

The ADG added that the ATS is on the lookout for the two and could conduct raids at various student hostels and other places connected to the AMU.

AMU Proctor Professor Wasim Ali, however, denied having any knowledge of the investigation. “No agency has sought any information from us in this matter till now. If any agency approaches the university, the university will respond accordingly,” he said.

(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)