A SIMI activist who teased police, a doctor who ‘sheltered’ him

“Fake encounter, custodial killing,” says Mohammed Hamid (left), Vikaruddin’s father. With Amjad’s brother Aman at Malakpet. (Source: PTI)

Vikaruddin Ahmed, 30

A former SIMI activist and a member of the radical Darsgah Jehad-o-Shahadat, he was accused of daring attacks on Hyderabad police, and is said to have left taunting messages threatening to kill policemen to avenge the Babri Masjid and Mecca Masjid incidents. Among the attacks attributed to Vikaruddin, who carried a reward of Rs 5 lakh on his head until his arrest in 2010, are firing on a picket in 2008 that injured three policemen, killing of a home guard in 2009 and of a constable in 2010.

He was wanted in Gujarat, too, part of an ATS list of wanted SIMI men. “He was wanted for constable Vinay Yadav’s murder in 2007,” said Ahmedabad ACP (Crime) M D Chaudhary. According to the crime branch chargesheet, it was a revenge murder for the 2002 riots.
Vikaruddin allegedly underwent plastic surgery to evade police.

His father, Mohammed Hamid, says the killing was planned. “The trial is almost over and the court would have given its decision, guilty or innocent. I think police took the law into their hands and shot him and the others. It was a fake encounter, a custodial killing. I will appeal to the judiciary and human rights organisations,” said Hamid, who lives in Malakpet outside Hyderabad.

Dr Mohammed Hanif Khan, 35

Hailing from Bapujinagar, Gujarat, he settled in Daira Kaman, Musheerabad, 30 km from Hyderabad, after marrying Ishrat Begum, a local. He had started a clinic and was arrested from there in 2010, along with Vikaruddin, who was allegedly hiding in his house, which his relatives deny. “He was at his clinic and checking a patient when plainclothesmen came and picked both up. Next we heard he was charged with sheltering a terrorist. How could a doctor checking a patient in a clinic away from his home be sheltering him?” says Nawabmiya Khan, his uncle. Dr Khan has two daughters and a son, aged eight to six.

Amjad Syed Ahmed, 27

A resident of Hyderabad. Amjad’s brother Aman says the family was not in touch with Amjad after he was arrested in 2010 for teaming up with Vikaruddin. “I saw on the news that he was shot dead by police and recognised him. He always kept to himself. By the time he was arrested, we were not aware what activities he was indulging in,” he said.

Izrar Khan

A resident of Lucknow, he was allegedly living in old Malakpet, metres from Vikaruddin’s house. He is alleged to have introduced Vikaruddin to dealers of country-made arms in UP.

Zakir Ahmed

An auto mechanic, he and his parents lived in Daira Kaman. After his arrest in July 2010 for assisting Vikaruddin, his parents shifted out.
Inputs by Ujjwala Nayudu.

Source:: Indian Express