Police arrest SIMI terrorist after 22-year search; Found working as a teacher

NEW DELHI: After 22 years of searching, the police arrested the terrorist who was working in SIMI, a banned organization. Hanif Sheikh was arrested by the police from Maharashtra. He was charged with sections including UAPA for anti-national activities. The police had been investigating him since 2001.

Sheikh was working as the editor of the Urdu edition of SIMI's Islamic Movement magazine for the past 25 years. Police said he was able to attract Muslim youth to SIMI through his lectures.

The main challenge faced by the police was that they did not have much information about the accused. The only information the police had was the name Hanif Hudai, which was printed in the Islamic Movement magazine. DCP Ankit Singh of Delhi Police responded that he was a serious terrorist who had been in Bhusawal in Maharashtra. The police also said that cases were registered against the accused in Maharashtra for anti-national activities and UAPA was imposed. According to the police, SIMI organized and participated in meetings in states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka and Kerala.

Delhi court ordered his arrest in 2002. For the past four years, the police have been trying hard to catch Hanif. But in the meantime, he changed his name to Muhammad Hanif. According to the police, he was working in an Urdu medium school in Bhusawal.

According to the Delhi Police, the information that he was working at the school was crucial in arresting the accused. Simi arrested the terrorist from Bhusawal on February 22. The police also said that the accused admitted that he kept changing places to avoid being caught by the police.