USIS accused in police custody

KOLKATA: More than seven years after he killed six policemen at the USIS in Kolkata, Sadaqat Hussein was finally brought to Kolkata on transit remand by the city police's special task force.
One of the founder-members of the dreaded terror group Indian Mujahideen, Sadaqat was flown in from Hyderabad by STF members on Saturday night. Sadaqat was produced in the Bankshall court on Sunday and remanded in police custody for 14 days.It took the city police nearly eight months to get hold of Sadaqat who is wanted in connection with several blast cases across the country.
Born and brought up at Sarjanpur in UP's Azamgarh, Sadaqat was barely 24 when he joined hands with Amir Reza Khan and Aftab Ansari to carry out the attack on the American Center in Kolkata on January 22, 2002. The attack was carried out to avenge the death of Asif Reza Khan killed in an encounter by Rajkot police. Amir and another associate Hassan Imam alias Hasruf are still absconding.
Sadaqat was arrested by Mumbai Police from Trombay's Cheeta Camp on September 24, 2008. He was working with a computer firm. Since the USIS attack, Sadaqat has climbed the ladders to the top of the terror modules operating in India.
"For Sadaqat, the USIS attack was baptism by fire. From what the Mumbai Police has gathered so far, he has been to Dubai, Pakistan and Bangladesh for further training. He came back to India in 2003 and since then, has been in the forefront of most terror activities that have been carried out in the country," said an officer.
Sadaqat's CV now includes the Mumbai train blasts and explosions in Varanasi, Delhi, Hyderabad, Faizabad, Jaunpur and Ahmedabad. Mumbai Police knew him as Mohammad Sadiq Sheikh. He got married and had children. Kolkata Police's STF and the detective department came to know more about Sadaqat's involvement in November 2008. Accordingly, the joint commissioner of police (STF) Rajeev Kumar and DC (DD) Jawed Shamim went to Ahmedabad, where Sadaqat was sent on transit remand for his involvement in the serial blasts that rocked Ahmedabad on July 26, 2008.
From Sadaqat, the city police would definitely like to know the whereabouts of Amir Reza Khan, the founder of Asif Reza Khan Commando Force and Indian Mujahideen, and also Hassan Imam. Both are wanted in the USIS attack case. The state CID, which probed the Partha Pratim Roy Burman abduction, would also be interested to know whether Sadaqat was involved in that as well.