Bengaluru: Nasir alias Parvez Rangrez, a resident of Belgavi, who is an alleged key operative of the banned terror outfits Indian Mujahideen (IM) and its mentor organisation the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), was arrested from his house on Khade Bazar Road in Belagavi on Sunday afternoon in a joint operation by the Gujarat Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) and local police for his alleged involvement in the 2008 serial blasts in Ahmedabad, which had killed 56 people and injured more than 200 others.
Confirming his arrest, Additional Director General of Police (Law & Order) Alok Mohan told DC that Parvez alias Nasir Rangrez was arrested from Belagavi in a joint operation after the Gujarat ATS sought the help of the local police. He was taken to Ahmedabad on transit remand and produced before the court there. Nasir (38) is an autorickshaw driver and is said to be an important part of a larger terror network involving SIMI and IM members. “He was radicalised post-2002 Godhra riots and was allegedly under the influence of SIMI leader Safdar Nagori and IM leader Yasin Bhatkal. Both are in judicial custody now. Nasir was involved in recruitment and training of vulnerable Muslim youth. From Pavagadh in Gujarat and Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh to Waghamon in Kerala, he had trained neo-jihadists. The stage for the Ahmedabad serial blasts was set in Kerala,” said an official source. Parvez was also arrested in 2008 in a case related to SIMI.
