UP ATS fails to produce suspected JeM terrorists before court due to lawyers' protest

The two suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists, arrested by Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad, couldn't be produced in the court on Saturday due to protests by lawyers.

The accused were brought to the ATS court at Bahukhandi earlier in the day as the ATS got two days' custody of them.

"It is not clear yet but they both may be taken to the judge's house for further proceedings in the matter," sources told ANI.

The lawyers were protesting outside the court premises against the terrorists who belong to Pakistan-based JeM.

It is worth mentioning that the arrest of JeM terrorists comes in the wake of a ghastly terror attack in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir in which as many as 40 CRPF personnel were killed.

 

The two JeM terrorists were arrested in Saharanpur with the police alleging that they were living in Deoband, posing as students to brainwash and recruit local youth to join the terror outfit.

"After receiving inputs, the two suspected terrorists were arrested on Thursday from Saharanpur by our ATS wing. They are suspected to have links with JeM and both are from Kashmir," Uttar Pradesh DGP OP Singh had told reporters on Friday.

One of them identified as Shahnawaz is from Kulgam district and while Aqib hails from Pulwama, he added.

Singh had stated: "The police recovered two weapons and live cartridges from their possession, apart from large quantities of objectionable literature, and videos and photographs of the JeM terrorists."

"The police will now seek their transit remand after producing them in the Lucknow ATS court. The police officials will initiate the primary investigation on four counts that who was funding the terrorists, what was the there mission, if they managed to recruit in young minds and, what was their target in Uttar Pradesh," he added.

"Of the two, Shahnawaz is believed to be a grenade expert. We will seek transit remand and produce them in Lucknow ATS court. We will also urge the court for police remand so that we can know when they came here from Kashmir and who is funding them and what was their target," the Uttar Pradesh DGP had stated.