Kondhwa: Pune's emerging terror nest
8 Oct 2008, 0344 hrs IST,TNN
PUNE: The arrests of four suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) members from the Kondhwa area of Pune and the revelation that they had used a plush fla
t at Ashoka Mews to fine-tune their plans to send terror emails and hack into WiFi networks has left local residents shocked.
"This is unfortunate. We are feeling insecure. This is giving a bad name to the entire Kondhwa area," said B Nair, a senior citizen who stays in a building near Ashoka Mews, a complex which houses 12 buildings and 28 row houses.
Another resident, Shrilekha Menon, said that she had purchased a flat in Kondhwa three years ago as the area was peaceful then. "But now we are feeling uncomfortable and may shift," she said.
Her fears are not unwarranted. This is the second time in the last couple of months that the police have arrested suspects from Kondhwa for their alleged terror links. On August 16, one of the three youths picked up by the Anti-Terrorism Squad was from Kondhwa. Police have questioned several others in the area.
In August, Pune police commissioner Satyapal Singh had said that the number of suspected Simi activists in the city had increased from 47 to 300. Though Singh had not revealed the pockets and areas from where these activists were thought to operate, police sources said that a majority of them were located in Kondhwa.
"We are concerned by this grouping of Simi activists in one locality. Earlier, they were scattered at Kasewadi, Bhavani Peth and Kondhwa. Now a majority of them have shifted their base to Kondhwa," said a senior police officer.
The officer said that there could be several reasons, including cheaper rentals and, until recently, weaker surveillance.
Speaking to TOI on Monday, deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Jalindar Supekar (zone IV) said that two special teams comprising 10 policemen each from the Kondhwa and Hadapsar police stations have been formed to look for suspected Simi activists taking shelter in places like Kondhwa.
The teams, formed three days ago, are headed by senior police inspector R B Gaikar, who is in charge of the Kondhwa police station. The activities of the teams, which started functioning from Sunday evening, will be supervised by Supekar and assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Ramesh Biwal (Wanowrie division).
According to Supekar, the team has been given a special task of identifying suspected Simi activists, keeping a tab on their movements and collecting intelligence.
Biwal confirmed that the Mumbai crime branch and Bangalore police had earlier visited Kondhwa for questioning suspected SIMI activists, but he claimed that the outcome of the interrogation was not known because no information was shared with the city police.
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