SIMI creeps in, strikes deep roots in UP

SOUNDS SIMI-LAR? SIMI, a banned organisation is alive and kicking in Uttar Pradesh

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Rajdeep Sardesai

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Tilkhana (Uttar Pradesh):Even as a red alert is declared in Uttar Pradesh because of heavy infiltration of terror cell, SIMI, a banned organisation — often accused of providing logistic support to terror groups — is alive and kicking in the state

Freshly painted invitations in Hindi and Urdu shouting 'Join SIMI' are a common sight in Tilkhana in UP, 12 km from the porous Nepal border.

A CNN-IBN Special Investigation Team visited the Al-Jamaitul-Islamia madrassa in Sidharthanagar district at Nepal border. Four people were picked up in 2001 for their alleged connection with SIMI.

The investigation went undercover to meet its new manager, Mushtaq Ahmed and Arbi teacher Akhtar Falahi. In 2001 Falahi and his colleague Abdul Avaal, were among those arrested.

“Aap log Tehelka se to nahi hain, jaise Gujarat mein hua tha. (I hope you are not the Tehelka people who went to Gujarat.)” Falahi said.

Falahi also said the police implicated them wrongly. “Farzi mukdma banakar ke giraftar kiya gaya. They framed us in a false case saying we were from SIMI and then arrested us.)

Today, Falahi and Avaal are back teaching at the madrassa and strangely, with them, the SIMI slogans too have re-appeared in Tilkhana.

“SIMI slogans are on the madrassa gates, on walls and even at the village square. The teachers with whom students were arrested then, they are still teaching there. A man may be arrested, but their ideology stays,” says Tilkhana resident Rehman.

Former manager of the madarssa Mohammed Rauf says he resigned as it turned into a den of SIMI activities.

CNN-IBN: Kin-Kin mastaro ka naam bataya? (Who were the teachers involved?)

Rauf: Ek master Abdul Avaal hai. Bataya gaya ki Abdul Avaal iske jimmedar hai aur kuch ladke hai. (Abdul Avval was one of the main people. Avval and some students as well.)

Members of the village community say they are scared of taking on the madrassa.

“We are also Muslims. But we are not powerful enough to resist them. But I know these are not good people,” says Tilkhana resident Akram (name changed).

There are over 600 mosques and madrassas along the Indo-Nepal border on the Indian side and over 400 on Nepal side.

Security expert suggest that many of these madrassas enjoy funding from financial institutions in Pakistan and west Asia.

“The most prominent names that comes to mind are the Habib bank of Pakistan, The Islamic Development Bank of Saudi-Arabia, the International Relief organization, the Al-Falah bank in Karachi there are five or six such organisations where they continue to flow funds to Radical and extremists Islamic organizations has been documented,” says Executive Director, Institute for Conflict Management, Ajai Sahani.

Funds for setting up madrassas and spreading extremists ideology continue to flow in despite warnings from intelligence agencies.