Banned Outfit SIMI's Member Absconding for 22 Years Arrested by Delhi Police

Deputy commissioner of police (Special Cell) Alok Kumar said that the accused, Hanif Sheikh alias Mohammed Hanif alias Haneed Hudai, of Jalgaon in Maharashtra, had been evading arrest for the past 22 years after he was declared a proclaimed offender in 2002 in a case reported in 2001 under sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and sedition.

Sheikh was the editor of SIMI magazine’s Urdu version. “He played an important part in all the events like attending and arranging meetings of SIMI in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, and Kerala. Every time the security agencies cracked down on the organisation, Sheikh managed to evade authorities,” said a senior police officer.

A team of the Special Cell recently learned that Sheikh had changed his identity to Mohammed Hanif and was working as a teacher in an Urdu school in Maharashtra’s Bhusawal. “A team was stationed there and they tracked him down. A raiding party was formed and a trap was laid near Asha Tower in Bhusawal. At 2.50pm on February 22, a person coming from Mohmadin Nagar to Khadka Road was identified as Sheikh. Sheikh sensed the presence of police and attempted to escape, but he was nabbed after a scuffle,” said DCP Kumar.