SIMI and the three bomb blasts

On September 13, 2008 five serial bomb blast jolted New Delhi killing more than 30 people and leaving more than 100 seriously wounded. This is the third Indian city that saw the act of terror with in a few days. There were incidents of serial co-ordinated bomb blasts in Bangalore and Ahmadabad last month.

Intelligence sources had earlier warned that after the Indian capital would be the next target after consecutive blasts in Bangalore and Ahmadabad. This was together called Operation BAD (Bangalore- Ahmadabad-Delhi). This act of terrorism has been planned and executed by 'Indian Mujahideen' which is a part of SIMI.

SIMI or the Student Islamic Movement of India is a radical Islamic fundamentalist student organisation that was formed at Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, in 1977 by Mohammad Ahmadullah Siddiqi who is now a professor of journalism and public relations at Western Illinois University, Macomb, USA. According to Siddiqi, he founded SIMI as a part of his mission to educate and enlighten the Muslim community. Siddiqi said SIMI was set up to study Islam like in a study circle and to present Islam through lectures and seminars to students at colleges and schools. Siddiqi now says he has nothing to do with SIMI because the organisation has been taken over by radical elements.

Though the NDA government banned SIMI in 2001 under POTA, the recent serial bomb blasts in Bangalore, Ahmedabad and now Delhi show that the group is still pursuing its nefarious designs.

SIMI is believed to have 400 full time cadres called "Ansars" and some 20,000 ordinary members known as "Ikhwans." The last known leaders of the outfit were Shahid Badar Falah and Safdar Nagori as the national president and secretary-general, respectively. While Falah was arrested and charged with sedition and communal tension in north India in September 2001. Safdar Nagori now heads this organisation and is currently under arrest since March 2008.

Nagori has several times openly eulogised Osama bin Laden. He said "we believe that he has shown great character in standing up to the Americans, the biggest terrorists in the world". It has been alleged that in 2000, SIMI cadre drawn by Nagori’s network had began training with the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen in Jammu and Kashmir. They further went on to participate in several major terrorist operations in India.

Intelligence Bureau reports say the Students Islamic Movement of India, which was renamed the Islamic Movement by its detained chief Safdar Nagori, manages to recruit at least 20 people daily into its various wings spread across the country. Nagori decided that it would be best to recruit more educated youth into SIMI. Techies were always preferred, he said. Not only are they excellent planners, but they always maintain a low key profile which was perfect for the organisation. The group called themselves the Muslim Technical Persons Organisation. The first of the attacks after the formation of this group was the Mumbai train bombings in which techies like Peedical Shibly, Yahya Kamakutty and Muzzamil Sheikh (all arrested) played a vital role. The latest name being Subhan Usman Qureshi alias Tauqeer. Qureshi's name was first announced as a suspect by the Gujarat police in connection with an email sent to TV channels using the Wi-Fi network of US national Ken Haywood. Referring to intelligence inputs , home ministry sources said Qureshi was in Delhi last month and recruited men to execute Saturday's blasts.

One of SIMI's deadliest offshoots is the all-women Shaheen Force, Nagori's creation. This outfit, which has elderly women as members, has been given the responsibility of brainwashing youth to join the movement since, according to Nagori, mothers are the best persons to convince youngsters.