First one to be initiated into the world of shadowy terror outfits was Dr Jaffer Iqbal Sholapur

BANGALORE: Police and security agencies suspect that the first one to be initiated into the world of shadowy terror outfits was Dr Jaffer Iqbal Sholapur. He was picked up from Hubli on Wednesday, and is among the 11 youths arrested recently. The doctor then played a prominent role in recruiting men for the Hubli and Bangalore terror modules that were busted. Dr Sholapur was first initiated into the Indian Mujahideen (IM), an offshoot of the Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) until it was banned on September 27, 2001, a security agency source said. A prominent SIMI leader known to security agencies only as Zakir, is believed to have indoctrinated Dr Sholapur , the source added. The source said investigators had also gathered that Zakir had handed over a 7.65mm revolver to Dr Sholapur, who played a prominent role in putting in place the Hubli and Bangalore terror modules by 2010. The modules had vowed to eliminate some right-wing organization leaders and lawmakers , the source said. The gun was recovered from the suspects during Wednesday's raids. "Extensive raids had been conducted on suspected SIMI camps in Hubli, during which several activists were arrested in March 2008. But a prominent SIMI leader, Zakir, managed to escape. Zakir is still absconding and is reportedly holed up in West Asia. Initially , we had no inkling about the prominence of Zakir in the spreading tentacles of terror. Zakir is believed to have returned to India to regroup his team," an officer who is part of the investigation said. "There is a definite connection between Zakir and Dr Sholapur, who is considered to be a very intelligent person. He was a rank student throughout his academic career . IM was looking for persons of Sholapur's stature in the community, as they knew he could help them get a foothold among youth from the urban middle class," the source explained. The Hubli and Bangalore suspects were in regular contact and exchanged ideas and plans. They were believed to be part of a terror network whose reach extended from Davanagere to Bijapur, the source explained. THE IM AGENDA Indian Mujahideen functions mainly as a recruiting agency of sorts. It indoctrinates Muslim youths through hate speeches, literature and false propaganda. IM then identifies the best among its recruits. The youngsters are then initiated into outfits like Al Badr, which is active in Mysore area and Darsgah-Jihad-o-Shahadat (DJS) and Tahreek-e-Tahfuz Shaair-e-Islam (TTSI) which have a strong presence in North Karnataka. All these outfits owe allegiance to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the security source explained. Bank accounts to be frozen Investigators are now looking into the financial trail of the 11 terror suspects picked up from Bangalore and Hubli. "We are trying to locate the bank accounts of all the 11 arrested , who are now in police custody for 14 days. We have requested the banks to freeze the accounts of the accused as we have to find the source of their funding. The bank accounts are located in Hubli, Bhatkal and some places in Bijapur district," said a source connected to the probe. TOI