Terror threat: Cops to re-verify passports in UP's Deoband
What's the story
All passports in UP's Deoband town, Saharanpur and Muzaffarnagar districts will be verified by the police amid reports of terrorists hiding in the region. Recently, two suspected terrorists from Bangladesh were arrested after they managed to attain Indian passports having Deoband addresses. Saharanpur DIG KS Emmanuel said police are conducting the passport verification drive as a caution to crack down on terror modules.
Police Justification
Police: No particular community being targeted in act-of-caution Police justification
"It's not only about Deoband or any particular community," Saharanpur DIG KS Emmanuel said. He said all passport holders would be verified across Muzaffarnagar and Saharanpur due to inputs that "a few terror modules could be hiding in the area." "In fact, the Bangladeshi terrorist arrested from Muzaffarnagar in August had got his passport made in Saharanpur," he added.
Information
Sources: Some police personnel helped Bangladeshis get passports
Sources say some UP police personnel who handled basic passport verification duties helped Bangladeshi migrants, some of whom have suspected terror links, secure Indian passports. A sub-inspector and a constable have come under the scanner, whose actions have made the passport re-verification process essential.
Arrests
Arrested Bangladeshi terrorist secured Indian passport, 20 others absconding
In August, Bangladeshi national Abdullah Al-Mamon, an alleged member of terror outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), was arrested by the UP Anti-terror Squad in Muzaffarnagar. For years, Abdullah had stayed in Deoband and even secured passport. Several of his associates were subsequently picked up. Police believe around 20 Bangladeshi men having suspected ABT links have gone missing in Western UP.