Gujarat police have detained at least five people, suspected to be associated with the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), and are probing if they were involved in the Ahmedabad serial blasts.

Imran Shaikh, 22, Usman Agarbattiwala, 24, and an unidentified youth from Vadodara were detained by the Special Operations Group (SOG) for questioning last week. Parents of Imran and Usman say they have not heard from their sons and have no idea where they are.

Officers of the Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) picked up alleged SIMI activists Sajid Mansuri and Javed Bengali from Bharuch. Sajid had been absconding since 2001. But Ashish Bhatia, Joint Commissioner of Police, Detection of Crime Branch (DCB), denied the detention. “We have not detained any such person in connection with the case,” he said.

“My husband is innocent and I suspect that the police are up to something as they have not declared his arrest,” says Mansuri’s wife Sazia. Police had been looking for Mansuri ever since a seminar under the banner of the All India Minority Education Board in Surat held in 2001.

Police had received information that several members of the banned SIMI would attend the seminar. They raided the hall, arrested 123 people and seized SIMI membership forms. During investigations, they found that Mansuri had organised the seminar and had sought permission for it.

Raids were conducted at his house but police could not find him until last week. After a tip-off, a team led by Sub-Inspector Munaf Pathan raided a Bharuch house and picked up Mansuri and his wife Sazia. They were first taken to Bharuch DSP’s office and from there to Ahmedabad, says Sazia. She says she waited the whole night outside the office in Ahmedabad while the police were questioning Mansuri.

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