Thaindian News

Lucknow, Aug 30, (ANI): The Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of the Uttar Pradesh Police is searching for 21 students of Lucknow University who studied with suspected Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terrorist Mohammad Aslam alias Salim.

Salim, who was arrested in Delhi on Tuesday, studied post graduation degree in Arabic studies Department of Lucknow University from 2003-05.

According to sources, the ATS is now trying to trace 21 students of Arabic, Persian and Urdu departments who studied during the same period in the University.

Besides Salim, most of these students belong to Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir and had used the address of the same ‘religious society’ located near Lucknow University to get admission, sources added.

The ATS suspects that some of these students also belong to Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, from where many terror suspects were arrested or killed in encounters in recent past.

Meanwhile, the Lucknow University has decided to take stringent steps in the verification process of students and also to put the details of students on its website to assist security agencies.

The university sources said some of the students are also assisting the ATS in probing the matter.

A team of UP ATS has arrived in Delhi, and waiting for the green signal form Delhi Police to interrogate Salim.

Police recovered a Pakistani passport, a Jammu and Kashmir voter identity card and some explosives were recovered from Salim.

Sources said, he had apparently been sent to Lucknow to take charge of the sleeper modules of the LeT in the eastern region of the state.

The ATS opine that Salim, who is an expert in computers, is a trained militant of the LeT. He had also received rigorous training in Pakistan. His admission to Lucknow University was a well-planned strategy of the LeT.

Salim’s name surfaced in the terror net after the arrest of three LeT terrorists, Mohammad Zubair, Mohammad Tanvir and Mohammad Amir, in 2006 by the Maharashtra police from Aurangabad district. (ANI)