A recent oversight by the police in Bijnor has raised concerns following new information linked to an alleged ISI network unearthed by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).
The focus is on Aqib, who is now suspected of serving as a go-between for arrested operative Saqib and an ISI handler based in Pakistan. Investigators reveal that Aqib, presently residing in Dubai, played a crucial role in facilitating communication between Saqib and the handler.
What has sparked serious doubts is a video from November last year showing Aqib holding what seemed to be a hand grenade and an AK-47 rifle. Despite the video’s wide circulation back then, the Bijnor police exonerated him.
At that time, the police determined that the weapons in the video were merely toys made of plastic and closed the case. In a video call, Aqib allegedly informed the police that both the AK-47 and the grenade were constructed from plastic.
However, the ATS investigation has brought Aqib back into the spotlight. Saqib, also known as ‘Devil,’ was apprehended in Lucknow on April 2, along with three others, for an alleged plot to detonate a railway signal box under directions from an ISI handler in Pakistan. Saqib and his accomplices disclosed during interrogation that they had established contact with the handler through Aqib.
Subsequently, in light of the ATS discoveries, measures have been taken against local police officials who had dismissed the case previously. The former Nangalsoti station house officer, Inspector Sachin Singh Malik, has been suspended, and a departmental inquiry has been initiated against Circle Officer Nitesh Pratap Singh.
The Superintendent of Police in Bijnor has instructed internal proceedings against the implicated officers after reviewing the ATS report, which highlighted the handling of the viral video in the past.
Further investigation into the incident is ongoing.