Safdar Nagori

Safdar Nagori is the current leader of outlawed SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India).

Nagori, now in his late 30s, was born a prominent Muslim family in Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh which is in transportation business [http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080045567 Safdar Nagori: The face behind SIMI's terror trail, Sudhi Ranjan SenMonday, March 31, 2008] .

He joined SIMI over a decade ago. In 2001 when several SIMI leaders urged the organisation to renounce terror and return to academic and religious activities, he became the leader of the militant group.

It is believed that in 2001-2002, he came to Delhi. In 2003, he moved to Mumbai. He spent the next five years in Murshidabad in West Bengal, where no major Islamist terrorist attacks have taken place (except the USIS attack in 2002).

Views about India and its democracy

In an interview with Sayantan Chakravarty in 2001, he expressed his views [http://www.india-today.com/itoday/20010402/nation2.shtml INTERVIEW: SAFDAR NAGORI "I Am Very Bitter About Being An Indian"] . At that time, the government had not banned SIMI.

:"Let me explain the concept of jehad 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 jehad is given. ... Warn. If nothing works then one is forced to revolt, take to arms.

:...When we are told that there is a rashtrapita in Gandhi, and another great statesman in 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 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 question "At SIMI meetings speeches of Qazi Hussain, the Jamat-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 2001, Safdar Nagori told BBC that the allegations against the movement that it had links with Islamic militant separatist groups were baseless [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1568471.stm India arrests militant chief] .

Alleged activities

It has been alleged that in autumn of 2000, SIMI cadre drawn by Nagori’s network had began training with the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen in Jammu and Kashmir.

Survivors of the training went on to participate in several major terrorist operations. In July, 2001, police in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi arrested 23 SIMI-linked terrorists. Four of those held turned out to have trained in Kishtwar [http://www.thehindu.com/2008/03/28/stories/2008032859801200.htm Safdar Nagori and SIMI’s jihad, Praveen Swami ] .

It is alleged that organisations such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Jaish-e-Mohammad and the Harkat ul-Jihad-e-Islami use SIMI cadre for their operations. Mohammad Sabahuddin, arrested in February 2008 for attacks carried out in Bangalore and Uttar Pradesh, was a SIMI member — as was his key associate, Fahim Ansari.

It is believed that the Malava region of Madhya Pradesh has become a major center of SIMI. Several terrorist incidents in the recent past has had some connection with the Malwa region from where Nagori comes. The briefcases used to store the explosives used in the Samjhauta Express blasts were bought in Indore and the fake e-mails claiming responsibility for the Mumbai blast also originated from an Indore suburb [http://www.ibnlive.com/news/mps-malwa-region-becoming-a-simi-stronghold/62187-3.html MP's Malwa region becoming a SIMI stronghold, Hemender Sharma / CNN-IBN, Mar 28, 2008 ] .

Arrest

It was reported in 2007 that Karnataka's jungles were being used as a training base by Islamist terrorists.

Safdar Nagori, general secretary of SIMI and ten other militants were arrested in Indore, near his home town Ujjain on March 26, 2008. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7316024.stm Banned Indian group's leader held, 27 March 2008]

A training camp has been found at a popular holiday spot at Choral, 35 km from Indore. The camp was located following a week of interrogation by Madhya Pradesh police of 13 arrested SIMI leaders. The police have also discovered the existence of SIMI's women's wing called Shaheen Force. The police were told the camp trained SIMI members from Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka and a some other states. The police also found 122 super-explosive gelatine sticks, 100 detonators and switchboards buried underground in Gawali village [http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Police_bust_SIMI_terror_camp_in_Madhya_Pradesh/articleshow/2921605.cms Police bust SIMI terror camp in Madhya Pradesh3 Apr 2008, 0343 hrs IST,Suchandana Gupta] .

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