Safdar Nagori

Last updated

Safdar Nagori
Born1969 (age 53–54)
Mahidpur, Ujjain district, Madhya Pradesh, India
NationalityIndian
Alma mater Vikram University
Organization Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI)
TitleGeneral-Secretary of SIMI
Criminal charge(s)Possession of illegal arms, ammunition and explosives
Plotting terrorist activities
Criminal penalty Life imprisonment
Criminal statusIncarcerated
Parent
  • Gahiruddhin Nagori (father)
RelativesKamruddin Nagori (brother)

Safdar Nagori (born 1969) was the General-Secretary of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), an Islamist organization designated as a terrorist organization by the Government of India.

Contents

On 27 February 2017, a court in Indore sentenced Nagori to life imprisonment for possession of illegal arms, ammunition and explosives, and plotting terrorist activities.

Early life

Nagori was born in Mahedpur village in the Ujjain district of Madhya Pradesh in 1969. His father Gahiruddhin Nagori worked in the Ujjain Police Crime Branch, and retired at the rank of Assistant Sub Inspector in 2005. [1] Safdar Nagori graduated with a Masters in Journalism from Vikram University, Ujjain in 1999 and was a merit holder. While at the university, he became state president of SIMI. [1] His brother Kamruddin Nagori, was the chief of the SIMI's operations in Andhra Pradesh. [2]

Beliefs and ideology

In an interview with Sayantan Chakravarty in April 2001, five months before SIMI was banned by the government, he expressed his views. [3]

Let me explain the concept of Jihad as detailed in the Quran. It is not when an individual is harmed but when an entire community finds itself collectively persecuted that the cry for Jihad is given. ... Warn. If nothing works then one is forced to revolt, take to arms.

...When we are told that there is a rashtrapita [Father of the Nation] in Gandhi, and another great statesman in Jawaharlal Nehru, we feel it is a direct attack on our fundamentals. Nehru wanted Muslims to recognise Ghulam Ahmed Qadiani as our Prophet. He was forcing us to alter our religious belief and we have no regard for such a man.

(In response to the question "you have openly eulogised Osama bin Laden") Not once, but dozens of times. We believe that he has shown great character in standing up to the Americans, the biggest terrorists in the world.

(In response to the question "At SIMI meetings speeches of Qazi Hussain Ahmad, the Jamaat-e-Islami chief in Pakistan, are played. Why?") We link up with him in Pakistan through phones and the speeches are amplified for the audience. The Qazi wants us to take Islam to non-Muslims.

When SIMI was banned in September 2001, Safdar Nagori told BBC that allegations that the organization had links with Islamic militant separatist groups were baseless. [4]

Militant activity

According to Indian newspaper Daily News and Analysis , Nagori became radicalized after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992, and subsequent communal riots. He joined SIMI in 1993. His father, Gahiruddhin, disowned his son after learning of his activities. [1] The first FIR against Nagori was filed in Indore in 1998. He was subsequently arrested and then released, after which he went into hiding. [1]

In autumn of the 2000, Harun Rashid, Mohammad Sabahuddin and other SIMI cadre drawn by Nagori's network had begun training with the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen in Jammu and Kashmir. Graduates of the training went on to participate in several major terrorist operations. In July 2001, police in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and New Delhi arrested 23 SIMI-linked terrorists. Four of those held turned out to have trained in Kishtwar. SIMI cadre have aided militant groups such as the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and the Harkat ul-Jihad-e-Islami in carrying out terrorist activities. [5]

In 2001, Nagori fell out with SIMI leadership. While several SIMI leaders urged the group to abandon terrorism and focus on academic and religious activities, Nagori advocated continuing terrorist activities. [6] Nagori absconded shortly after SIMI was proscribed as terrorist organization by the Government of India on 27 September 2001. [2] He spent a year in Delhi in 2001–02, before moving to Mumbai in 2003. Nagori then moved to Murshidabad, West Bengal where he would spend the next five years. In Murshidabad, Indian law enforcement officials believe that Nagori was training 200 people for Mullah Omar, the spiritual leader of the Taliban. Officials also state that his activities in at least five states, suggests that he must have created large local terrorist networks, some of which have been uncovered by the arrests of connected militants. [7] [6]

Nagori visited Hyderabad in early 2008. [8]

Conviction and sentencing

Safdar Nagori was arrested by Madhya Pradesh Police from a flat in Sanyogitaganj, Indore on 26 March 2008. Ten other SIMI militants, including his brother Kamruddin Nagori, were also arrested in the operation. [9] Following a week of interrogation of the accused, they revealed the location of a farmhouse in Choral, 35 km from Indore, which was used as a training camp by SIMI militants. The police were told the camp trained SIMI members from Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka and some other states in physical exercise, combat and organisation philosophy. [10] Police found arms, ammunition, radical literature in Urdu and Hindi and explosives at the farmhouse and arrested two more militants. [11] [12] Further investigations revealed the existence of SIMI's women's wing called Shaheen Force. Police also found 122 super-explosive gelatine sticks, 100 detonators and switchboards buried underground in Gawali village. [10]

Nagori told investigators that SIMI had about 400 active members and 20,000 supporters. He also stated that SIMI militants received training in Jammu and Kashmir, alongside Hizbul Mujaheedin militants. Militants received training in several types of terrorist operations. Nagori also claimed that he had advocated for the inclusion of more women in SIMI. [6]

On 11 February 2013, authorities at Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad, where Nagori was being held, discovered a 213-feet long tunnel that been dug from the prison cells in the Chhota Chakkar area of the jail. The tunnel extended up to the prison's garden. Jail authorities believe that prisoners intended to dig until the underground sewage line and use it to escape. Authorities claim that the attempt would have been unsuccessful as the prison's boundary wall extends 20 feet below ground, while the tunnel had a depth of just 6 feet. On 18 May 2013, Ahmedabad City Crime Branch charged Nagori, and 23 other prisoners, under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 130 (aiding escape of state prisoners), 225 (resistance or obstruction to lawful apprehension of another person) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy). All 24 accused are also accused in the 2008 Ahmedabad bombings. [13]

Nagori, and the 10 other militants, were charged with sedition, possession of illegal arms, ammunition and explosives, and plotting terrorist activities. The laws violated include the relevant sections of the Arms Act , the Explosive Substances Act, the IPC, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act . [11] They were convicted of all charges by a CBI Court in Indore. On 27 February 2017, special CBI Judge BK Paloda sentenced them to life imprisonment for possession of illegal arms, ammunition and explosives, and plotting terrorist activities. [6] [11]

Nagori, along with 17 SIMI militants, was charged by Kerala Police in a separate case for organizing an arms training camp at Thangalpara, Vagamon in December 2007. The case was originally registered in Mundakayam on 21 June 2008, but the investigation was transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in January 2010. [14] The NIA chargesheet alleged that the accused participated in a "secret training camp" involving shooting practice, explosives training, besides "classes on jihad in India". On 15 May 2018, an NIA Court in Kochi convicted Nagori under different sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Explosive Substances Act and section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC. Special NIA Judge Kauser Edappagath sentenced Nagori to 7 years rigorous imprisonment. The sentence will run concurrently with his life term. [15] [16]

Related Research Articles

The Students' Islamic Movement of India is a banned terrorist organisation that was formed in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh in April 1977. The stated mission of SIMI is the ‘liberation of India’ by converting it to an Islamic land. The SIMI, an organisation of extremists has declared Jihad against India, the aim of which is to establish Dar-ul-Islam by either forcefully converting everyone to Islam or by violence. The Indian government describes it as a terrorist organisation, and banned it in 2001, shortly after the 9/11 attacks. The ban was lifted in August 2008 by a special tribunal, but was reinstated by K.G. Balakrishnan, then Chief Justice, on 6 August 2008 on national security grounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indore</span> Metropolis in Madhya Pradesh, India

Indore is the largest and most populous city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is consistently ranked as the cleanest city in India. It serves as the headquarters of both the Indore District and the Indore Division. It is also considered as the state education hub and houses campuses of both the Indian Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Management. Located on the southern edge of Malwa Plateau, at an average altitude of 553 meters (1,814 ft) above sea level, it has the highest elevation among major cities of Central India. The city is 190 km (120 mi) west of the state capital of Bhopal. It is 57 km from Ujjain and 35 kms from Dewas. Indore had a census-estimated 2011 population of 1,994,397 and 3,570,295. The city is distributed over a land area of just 530 square kilometres (200 sq mi), making Indore the most densely populated major city in the central province.

Ujjain is a city in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Pradesh by population and is the administrative centre of Ujjain district and Ujjain division. It is one of the Hindu pilgrimage centres of Sapta Puri famous for the Kumbh Mela held there every 12 years. The famous temple of Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga is located in the center of the city. The city has been one of the most prominent trade and political centres of Indian Subcontinent from the time of Ancient Mahajanapadas up until the British Colonization of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terrorism in India</span> Overview of terrorism in India

Terrorism in India, according to the Home Ministry, poses a significant threat to the people of India. Compared to other countries, India faces a wide range of terror groups. Terrorism found in India includes Islamic terrorism, separatist terrorism, and left-wing terrorism India is one of the countries most impacted by terrorism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digvijaya Singh</span> 14th Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, India

Digvijaya Singh is an Indian politician and a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha. He is Ex-General Secretary of the Indian National Congress party's All India Congress Committee. Previously, he had served as the 14th Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, a central Indian state, for two terms from 1993 to 2003. Prior to that he was a minister in Chief Minister Arjun Singh's cabinet between 1980 and 1984. In 2019 Lok Sabha elections he was defeated by Pragya Singh Thakur for Bhopal Lok Sabha seat.

The National Development Front (NDF) was a Sunni Muslim organisation set up in Kerala. It was established in India in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maqbool Bhat</span> Kashmiri separatist leader

Maqbool Bhat also spelt Maqbool Butt was a Kashmiri separatist leader who migrated to Pakistan and founded the militant group National Liberation Front (NLF), which was a precursor to the present day Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). Bhat carried out multiple attacks in Jammu and Kashmir (state). He was captured and sentenced to double death sentence. He was hanged on 11 February 1984 in Tihar Jail in Delhi. His body was not returned to Kashmiris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Badr (Jammu and Kashmir)</span> Militant group operating in Kashmir, India

Al-Badr is a militant group operating in the Kashmir region. The group was allegedly formed by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in June 1998. It is believed the group was encouraged by the ISI to operate independently from their previous umbrella group, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM). Prior to the group's separation from HM, they participated in the fighting in Afghanistan in 1990 as part of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hizb-l-Islami (HIG) alongside other anti-Soviet Afghan mujihadeen. India and the United States have declared it a terrorist organisation and banned it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Popular Front of India</span> Banned Indian Muslim political organisation

Popular Front of India (PFI) is an Islamic political organisation in India, that engages in a radical and exclusivist style of Muslim minority politics. Formed to counter Hindutva groups, it was banned by the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on 28 September 2022 for a period of five years.

The 2007 Samjhauta Express bombing was a terrorist attack that occurred around midnight on 18 February 2007 on the Samjhauta Express, a twice-weekly train service connecting Delhi, India, and Lahore, Pakistan. Bombs were set off in two carriages, both filled with passengers, just after the train passed Diwana near the Indian city of Panipat, 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of New Delhi. 70 people were killed in the ensuing fire and dozens more were injured. Of the 70 fatalities, most were Pakistani civilians. The victims also included some Indian civilians and three railway policemen.

2008 Bangalore serial blasts occurred on 25 July 2008 in Bangalore, India. A series of nine bombs exploded in which 1 person was killed and 20 injured. According to the Bangalore City Police, the blasts were caused by low-intensity crude bombs triggered by timers.

The 2008 Ahmedabad bombings were a series of 21 bomb blasts that hit Ahmedabad, India, on 26 July 2008, within a span of 70 minutes. Fifty-six people were killed and over 200 people were injured. Ahmedabad is the cultural and commercial heart of Gujarat state and a large part of western India. The blasts were considered to be of low intensity and were similar to the Bangalore blasts, Karnataka which occurred the day before. This bombings were done by Islamic Terrorist group Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami.

Indian Mujahideen (IM) is an Islamic terrorist group which has been particularly active in India. The jihadist group was founded as an offshoot of the Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) by several radicalized members including Iqbal Bhatkal, Riyaz Bhatkal, Yasin Bhatkal, Abdul Subhan Qureshi, Amir Reza Khan and Sadiq Israr Sheikh, among others. It has been active since at least 2005 when it bombed the Dashashwamedh Ghat in Varanasi. It carried out several serial-bombings in Indian cities in the following years notably the 2007 Uttar Pradesh bombings, 2008 Jaipur bombings, 2008 Ahmedabad bombings, 2008 Delhi bombings, 2010 Pune bombing, 2011 Mumbai bombings, 2011 Delhi bombing, 2013 Patna bombings, 2013 Hyderabad blasts and the 2013 Bodh Gaya bombings.

Abdul Qureshi is a formerly most wanted islamist bomb-maker and one of the most wanted terrorists in India and has been called India's Osama Bin Laden. He is suspected to be associated with the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), and is thought to have been responsible for participating in the Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Delhi bombings. He is also a suspect in the 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings. He is more commonly known as Tauqeer and is believed to be the signer in the Indian Mujahideen terror email as al-Arabi. Abdul Subhan Qureshi was arrested by Delhi Police in January 2018. He was listed on the NIA Most Wanted list.

Love jihad or Romeo jihad, is an Islamophobic conspiracy theory developed by proponents of the Hindutva ideology. The conspiracy theory purports that Muslim men target Hindu women for conversion to Islam by means such as seduction, feigning love, deception, kidnapping, and marriage, as part of a broader demographic "war" by Muslims against India, and an organised international conspiracy, for domination through demographic growth and replacement.

Syed Abdul Karim alias Tunda, was a bomb maker of terror outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba, and was accused of masterminding over 40 bombings in India supported by Pakistani terrorists. He was arrested by Indian authorities on 16 August 2013 from the India-Nepal border at Banbasa. However, the exact timings of this arrest is disputed with various versions being reported.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Burdwan blast</span>

On 2 October 2014, an explosion occurred in a house in the Khagragarh locality of Burdwan. Two terrorists were killed and a third injured. The police seized 55 improvised explosive devices, RDX, wrist watch dials and SIM cards.

Jabri railway station is a small railway station in Shajapur district, Madhya Pradesh. Its code is JBX. It serves Jabadiya Bheel village. The station consists of two platforms, neither well sheltered. It lacks many facilities including water and sanitation.

The 2017 Bhopal–Ujjain Passenger train bombing was a terrorist attack that occurred on March 7, 2017 on the Bhopal–Ujjain Passenger, a passenger train which runs between Bhopal Junction railway station of Bhopal, the capital city of Madhya Pradesh and Ujjain Junction railway station. The bombing occurred at Jabri railway station in the Shajapur district of Madhya Pradesh, injuring 10 passengers. It was stated to be the first-ever strike in India by the Islamic State. One of the terrorist suspect was later killed in an encounter in Lucknow. It was stated by the police that the module was self-radicalised and didn't receive any financial support from the group. Six persons were later arrested. National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe reports stated that the ISIS-inspired module had also conspired to bomb a rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hadiya case</span> 2017–2018 Indian Supreme Court case

The Hadiya case was a 2017–2018 Indian Supreme Court case that affirmed the validity of the marriage of Hadiya and Shafin Jehan, which was challenged by Hadiya's family. Media outlets have described the underlying dispute as an allegation of "love jihad".

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Sharma, Deepesh (19 August 2008). "Safdar Nagori was not always a hardliner". DNA. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Top leaders of banned SIMI arrested in Madhya Pradesh". India Today. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  3. ↑ "INTERVIEW: SAFDAR NAGORI "I Am Very Bitter About Being An Indian"". India Today. 2 April 2001. Archived from the original on 24 November 2010.
  4. ↑ "India arrests militant chief". BBC. 28 September 2001. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  5. ↑ "Safdar Nagori and SIMI's jihad". The Hindu. 28 March 2008. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "CBI court sentences SIMI mastermind Safdar Nagori to life: All you need to know". Firstpost. 27 February 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  7. ↑ "Archived". Archived from the original on 27 February 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2023.[ dead link ]
  8. ↑ "SIMI leader Safdar Nagori was in city". The Hindu. 29 July 2008. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  9. ↑ "Banned Indian group's leader held". BBC. 27 March 2008. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  10. 1 2 "Police bust SIMI terror camp in Madhya Pradesh". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  11. 1 2 3 "11 SIMI operatives, including its former chief Nagori sentenced to lifetime imprisonment". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  12. ↑ "SIMI mastermind Safdar Nagori, 10 others awarded life imprisonment by Indore court". The Indian Express. 27 February 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  13. ↑ "Chargesheet filed against 24 accused in Sabarmati jailbreak case". India Today. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  14. ↑ "Safdar Nagori, 17 SIMI Cadres Sentenced to 7-year RI in Kerala". News18. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  15. ↑ "NIA court sentences 18 SIMI activists including its head Safdar Nagori 7 years rigorous jail in Kerala | India News". www.timesnownews.com. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  16. ↑ "Safdar Nagori, 17 SIMI cadres convicted in Kerala arms training case". India Today. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.