Khargone: Talai Mohalla situated behind Birla Marg of Khargone district remained in the news on Thursday, after Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad took away Avesh Sheikh, 26, son of Zakir Sheikh in connection with Shajapur train blast and the case related to terror outfit ISIS on Tuesday.
A senior police official said here that ATS team had recovered a laptop and mobile phone from his possession. The area hardly had any rioting history in the past even after 10-day long curfew clamped in the town during Dussehra celebration in 2015.
Fearing media attention after Sheikh’s detention, all his family members have gone in hiding after locking up their home. Even neigbourers remained tight-lipped and did not speak a single word about Sheikh and his family members fearing trouble.
Meanwhile, some of the neighbours, on condition of anonymity, informed that it was hard to believe stories revolving around Avesh as he came from an educated family and it was shocking for everyone in the area.
They informed that, not only Avesh, who has done his M Tech from a Pune-based engineering college, but his father Zakir Sheikh has done graduation and works at a nearby factory, while his mother Shamim Bano Sheikh is an assistant teacher at an Urdu school. Avesh’s grandfather was a retired school teacher.
Locals informed that Avesh was reserved by nature and hardly interacted with people in the locality. After marriage, he was searching for a job. Earlier case was registered against Avesh in Mumbai under Section 16, 18, 18B, 20, 38 and 39 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and investigation is being done under direction of Mumbai ATS chief Atulchandra Kulkarni. Meanwhile, Khargone superintendent of police D Kalyan Chakravarti said, “Only Maharashtra ATS officers will be able to answer any questions. They (ATS) only informed us about his (Avesh’s) detention”.
Asked whether anyone else was on ATS radar, Chakravarti refused to comment. When asked about whether police was keeping watch on list of 14 suspects, who were allegedly associated with banned organisation SIMI in the past, SP replied in the affirmative.
