Terror probe: UP ATS looking into Saharanpur links of vehicles
LUCKNOW, Nov. 18 -- Fresh details have emerged from the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) investigation into an alleged terror conspiracy, indicating that about half-a-dozen of the 32 vehicles recovered so far carry registration numbers from Saharanpur district, senior police officials confirmed on Monday.
These 32 vehicles were recovered from different locations in Faridabad, Haryana, Delhi and Saharanpur, UP, between November 8 and 13.
Four of them were recovered by UP police, including one from Dr Parvez Ansari in Lucknow. Twenty-eight vehicles were recovered by the police teams of Delhi and Haryana.
This new information reinforces the ATS's concern that the larger network under scrutiny - already linked to Saharanpur-based medical professionals, Kashmir connections, and Dubai-based handlers in earlier phases of the probe - may have heavily relied on Saharanpur's transport ecosystem to stay below the radar
According to officials, the ATS has been stationed at the Saharanpu ARTO for the past three days, scanning vehicle records and examining ownership trails.
"Of the 32 vehicles linked to the Delhi terror plot recovered so far, some have a Saharanpur link, raising suspicions about a local logistical network," an official said.
He also said the scrutiny of vehicle records in Saharanpur is expected to help investigators map the supply chain and mobility patterns of the alleged module. Preliminary findings suggest that these vehicles may have been used for transporting materials, facilitating movement of operatives, or providing cover for suspicious travel across districts, the official added.
"Officials are now mapping owners, previous sellers, intermediaries, and financing routes to determine whether a coordinated local logistical module was operating in the region," he said.
He added the investigators are also checking whether the same cluster of vehicle owners overlaps with individuals associated with Dr Adil Ahmed Rather, arrested from Saharanpur on November 6, whose communications and movements pointed to a wider conspiracy.
The official said the possibility that local garages, agents, or informal dealers were used to acquire vehicles without raising suspicion is being examined. The official quoted above said the investigation is "still in the verification stage," but added that the vehicle trail is "one of the strongest leads indicating organised logistical planning."
Earlier, the police had seized a white Alto 800 car with a Saharanpur registration number (UP 11 BD 3563) from the Lucknow house of Dr Parvez Saaed Ansari (41), brother of the arrested Dr Shaheen, even as investigators continued to track possible terror networks.
During a raid by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad on Dr Parvez's Muttakipur residence under the Madiaon police station limits in the state capital last week, police personnel found the Alto parked outside the house.
The presence of the vehicle raised suspicion about its possible use in the terror network after which the police seized the car and placed it on the local Madiaon police station premises.
Upon verification, the car was found to have been initially registered in the name of Mohd Shoaib, resident of Chakdewli village in Saharanpur.
During questioning, Shoaib told the ATS that he had sold the car online in 2021 for Rs.2.2 lakh. The deal was allegedly facilitated by one Sunny, an associate of Dr Parvez in Lucknow.
Shoaib said that he had received the car as a wedding gift in 2017, but was later forced to sell it due to non-payment of the loan.
The ownership of the car has been transferred to Dr Parvez , according to online records accessed by HT....
To read the full article or to get the complete feed from this publication, please
Contact Us.