A hafiz,IM man was rarely seen in his village

The Special Cell laid the trap for Alam after learning that he would visit the village soon.

Farooq alias Nawab Alam alias Aftab Alam,the seventh Indian Mujahideen operative arrested in the past few days by the Delhi Polices Special Cell,is a hafiz (who memorises the Quran) like his two elder brothers from Khaataghat village under the Jalalgarh police station of Purnia district in Bihar.

Alam had opened a small provisions store in the village but it was his father who actually ran the shop,as the alleged IM operative stayed away from the village most of the time.

Alam,who allegedly planted the bomb at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore and was also instrumental in the September 7 Delhi High Court blast,would frequently visit Delhi,Mumbai and Nepal. He had been in constant touch with Ghayur Ahmad Jamali,another IM operative arrested from Sakri in Madhubani district on November 24,said sources.

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He had done his matriculation equivalent from the village madrasa and could also speak Hindi and a smattering of English.

Like Ghayur,he would deliver religious sermons during Friday prayers at mosques in his minority-dominated village. Khaataghat locals have told the police that Alam would not interact much with the village people.

When queried on his Delhi and Mumbai trips,he would say he had gone there in search of a job. As he had no criminal case in Bihar,people had no reason to doubt his frequent outstation trips,otherwise unaffordable for his poor family, said a senior police officer.

The small village provisions store,said the police sources,was only a cover-up for his anti-national activities.

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Whenever he would return,he would sit at the shop. His father and two elder brothers would depend on petty business.

The Special Cell laid the trap for Alam after learning that he would visit the village soon.