Man who wanted to establish Sharia Law in Uttar Pradesh arrested by ATS

The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) has arrested one person suspected of radicalising youths for terror activities and aims to establish Sharia Law in the state. Prashant Kumar, ADG Law and Order, Uttar Pradesh, said that the person has been identified as Azharuddin and used to radicalise youth for jihad. 

"ATS arrested Azharuddin, who encouraged youths to become terrorists in the name of Jihad. Azharuddin used to radicalize youths and give them knowledge of Jihad. His intention was to promote the ideology of overthrowing the elected government and implement Sharia law in the state," said Kumar. 

The Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) arrested Saharanpur native Azharuddin on December 30. The arrest was based on the disclosure of Lukmaan, who was nabbed earlier for allegedly having links with the al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent and the Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, it said.

Azharuddin allegedly showed "jehadi videos and literature" to youths in a bid to radicalise them and was working actively to make them join with the ideology of the terror organisations.

On September 26, the ATS arrested Lukmaan and slapped him with a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). It had earlier arrested Md Mudassir and 10 others in the case.

During the interrogation of Haridwar native Mudassir, it emerged that Azharuddin had a suspicious background in the case and he was brought in for questioning. He was subsequently arrested on December 30, the ATS said.

"The accused Azharuddin, Bangladeshi accused persons and active criminals of AQIS (al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent) and JMB (Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh), while joining hands with Mudassir, Abu Talha, Ahsan and others, used to propagate jehadi ideology...," the ATS said in the statement. (With agency inputs)