#Cleric has purported handlers in Pakistan, Nepal
Surat: A 27-year-old Muslim cleric from Nandurbar, Maharashtra, was arrested in Surat on Friday for allegedly plotting the assassination of BJP leaders; he is a right-wing group leader with purported handlers in Pakistan and Nepal, as per media reports.
According to the reports, the cleric, identified as Maulvi Sohel Abubakr Timol, was apprehended from Bharimata Road near Phoolwadi Creek.
According to Surat Police Commissioner Anupam Singh Gehlot, Timol allegedly threatened the chief editor of Sudarshan TV channel, Telangana BJP MLA Raja Singh, and the party’s former spokesperson Nupur Sharma, with assistance from handlers in Pakistan and Nepal, reported different media.
The police’s attention was drawn to Timol through his activities on a WhatsApp group, where he was found disseminating content to provoke religious sentiments and incite communal unrest during elections. This led to a police investigation.
“Timol’s mobile chats revealed he was conspiring with people from Pakistan and Nepal to offer Rs 1 crore ‘supari’ (contract for killing) and procure weapons from Pakistan to kill his first target, national president of Hindu Sanatan Sangh Upadesh Rana,” Gehlot said, as per India Today.
“After his detention, we found several objectionable contents in his mobile phones, including the one regarding offering Rs 1 crore for the murder of Updesh Rana. For this, he was continuously in touch with persons/numbers from Pakistan and Nepal,” Gehlot added.
“Photos and other details found on his phone number show they (accused and associates) were discussing on a secure app about targeting and threatening editor-in-chief of Sudarshan TV Suresh Chavhanke, political leader Nupur Sharma, and Hyderabad MLA Raja Singh. For this purpose, they were planning to collect funds and procure weapons,” Gehlot stated.
According to a senior police official, chat records indicate that Timol aimed to disrupt communal harmony during the ongoing general elections.
The Surat police are working with other agencies to determine if there were additional targets.
Initial investigations suggest that Timol was communicating with two individuals named Dogar and Shehnaz through phone numbers linked with Pakistan and Nepal, respectively.
About a year and a half ago, these individuals allegedly contacted Timol through social media platforms, using phone numbers from Pakistan and Nepal, and radicalized him by claiming that Hindu organizations in India were insulting the Prophet and needed to be addressed.
Timol allegedly wrote speeches against Hinduism and threatened Rana on the chat app, likening his fate to that of Kamlesh Tiwari, who was murdered.
A member of Timol’s chat group reportedly offered one crore rupees to murder Rana, along with his photo.
The arrested accused was in contact with individuals using WhatsApp numbers with country codes from various countries such as Pakistan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, and Laos, police revealed.
