Lucknow: An elderly woman was arrested on Sunday for allegedly ordering the preparation of four-time bombs that were recovered from the possession of a man in Muzaffarnagar a couple of days ago. During interrogation, the woman, identified as Imrana Begum, 60, a resident of Shamli, told cops that her house was set on fire during the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots and she wanted the explosives for protection in case any communal violence broke out in the future.
As reported, 25-year-old Javed (first name available only) had reportedly assembled the bombs with a timer after watching YouTube videos. He was held by UP special task force (STF) near Kali river in Muzaffarnagar on Thursday night.
A communique issued by STF on Sunday said that Imrana claimed to have faced significant losses during the 2013 riots in Muzaffarnagar. “She was furious at her home being gutted during the violence. She recently met Javed, who was the son of one of her acquaintances, and came to know that he was involved in making explosive devices. She thereafter got the idea to get him to make some bombs which could be used in case of any future conflict,” the communique said.
According to STF officials, Imrana had given Javed Rs 10,000 in advance for preparing the improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and had agreed to pay him Rs 40,000 more upon delivery. Javed was arrested when he had come to deliver the IEDs to Imrana.
Imrana has been charged under IPC sections 286 (negligent conduct for explosive substance) and sections 4/5 of the Explosives Act and has been sent to jail. She is expected to be taken into police custody for further interrogation, Muzaffarnagar SSP Abhishek Singh said. “A lot of facts need to be properly verified before we can say anything conclusive about the motives behind the preparation of the time-bombs,” the SSP added.
