Brother of LeT Operative Sandeep Sharma Held For Questioning

Police arrested UP man Sandeep Sharma on 10 July. He is believed to be behind an attack which killed 6 policemen.

Sandeep Kumar is believed to be behind the attack which killed six policemen.

(Photo: ANI)

The brother of alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba militant Sandeep Sharma has been held for questioning over a Rs 2 lakh bank deposit, police said on 14 July.

The action comes after the Jammu and Kashmir police busted a module of the Lashkar-e-Taiba on 10 July, arresting Sandeep, a man from Uttar Pradesh who is believed to have been behind the recent attack in which six policemen were killed.

Sandeep’s brother Praveen, who works as a taxi driver in Haridwar, was taken into custody on 13 July.

Police found a bank account in Haridwar in which Rs 2 lakh was deposited from Mumbai some months ago. There were also two transactions of Rs 50,000 each in the account.

After Sandeep’s arrest, Inspector General of Police Munir Khan had said that video evidence showed that Lashkar was running criminal gangs involved in bank robberies and other criminal acts. According to Khan, Sandeep was also known as Adil to the locals.

Sandeep Sharma, son of Ram Sharma from Uttar Pradesh was apprehended from Muzaffarnagar. Lashkar has become a hub of criminals. Sandeep was in the same house where dreaded Lashkar militant, Bashir Lashkar took shelter. He was in the valley since 2012.

Munir Khan

Speaking to the media, Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad officer Aseem Arun had said that Sandeep’s criminal history was being looked into and that he was involved in incidents such as ATM loots in the past.

We’re looking into his criminal history & have found that he’s been involved in incidents like ATM loots. A UP ATS Team left for Jammu, another is talking to his family & relatives.

Aseem Arun, IG, UP ATS

Police probe revealed that Sandeep and others helped provide shelter to terrorists and ferried them from one place to another for terror strikes. Kumar also looted weapons from police guards in a vehicle and then shifted to different locations on the directions of the LeT.

Earlier, Sharma’s mother Parvati and sister-in-law Rekha had also been interrogated by a team of the Uttar Pradesh Anti- Terrorist Squad (ATS) earlier.

Parvati had told reporters in Muzaffarnagar, “If my son is a militant he must be punished. Due to his actions, we are facing problems and shame.”

Both Parvati and Rekha work as domestic workers in the Muzaffarnagar district.

Sharma had left the district in 2012 and told his family that he was earning Rs 12,000 per month in Jammu. His father died in 2007.