Saharanpur, 30th July 2014 – In a major breakthrough, the main accused for the pre-planned attack on Sikhs, which claimed the lives of three people and left 33 others injured, has been arrested. Muharram Ali Pappu was arrested on Wednesday along with six others and booked under the National Security Act.
Sources said Pappu, a former municipal counselor of the area, was the person behind the litigation over the disputed piece of land near the gurudwara. They said he was also offered money but somehow the deal did not go through.
“We have arrested Moharram Ali and five others in connection with the riots today. We suspect that Ali-whose name was in an FIR also-was the person who gathered the mob and instigated violence. He has been booked under NSA,” Saharanpur SSP, Rajesh Pandey said.
His brother in law Irshad Ali is also among those who have been arrested, reliable sources revealed.
Pappu, a resident of Lohani Sarai, is a close to former health minister Kaji Rashid Masood. Masood, however, claimed that he had no relations with Pappu anymore.
.Pappu went underground after leading the riots. Pappu had allegedly blackmailed Shri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara committee and managed to get Rs 15 lakh. His brother in Law Irshad Lai played an equal role in the attack on Sikh community, said police sources.
The members of Gurdwara committee alleged that they had informed the police about the blackmailing for the land by Pappu and his accomplices but police failed to take any action against the accused.
Sikh leaders further alleged that Pappu had been demanding another amount of Rs 30 lakh, which they refused. Pappu managed to gather the mob and misguided the mob to attack Sikhs and the Gurdwara on July 26.