Gujarat Anti Terrorism Squad Arrests Kashmiri Man In 2006 Blast Case.

Assisted by J&K Police, Gujarat Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested a man from Baramulla, Kashmir for his alleged involvement in the 2006 Kalupur Railway Station blast case.

Sources told news agencies that a man identified as Bilal Aslam was arrested from Baramulla with the assistance of Jammu and Kashmir Police.

A team of Gujarat ATS under SP Deepan Bhadran had travelled to Jammu and Kashmir to apprehend Bilal Ahmad alias Bilal Kashmiri, a resident of Debina village in Baramulla, who had been allegedly absconding for the past 15 years.

According to Gujarat Police, Aslam Kashmiri and Bashir Kashmiri, both accused in the case, were behind a module that “systemically brainwashed” students at a madrasa in Bharuch and later conspired the bomb blast at Kalupur Railway Station platform on March 19, 2006, in which one was killed and several injured. Ahmad was part of this module, police said.

Gujarat ATS, in a statement, said Ahmad’s role was to allegedly brainwash the students enrolled in a Bharuch madrasa through speeches and videos of the 2002 Gujarat riots and conflicts in Kashmir.

“The accused Bilal Ahmad was a student in a madrasa in Bharuch in 2006 when he got involved with the banned terrorist organisation, Lashkar E Taiba. Under a conspiracy, he instigated and spread the misconception among other students regarding Kashmiri Muslims through the use of his eloquent speeches and religious extremism to trap them,” the statement read.

Gujarat Director General of Police Ashish Bhatia said, “The investigation had revealed the nexus of Aslam and Bashir Kashmiri in the conspiracy and a total of nine persons have been arrested in the case so far. One accused named Bilal Ahmad had been absconding in the case since 2006 and after we received intelligence regarding his presence in Baramulla, a team was sent (to J&K). In cooperation with Jammu and Kashmir Police, the accused will be brought to Ahmedabad.”