Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has apprehended Anjum Qureshi, a woman accused of inciting communal riots in Gujarat following the Godhra incident. Qureshi, who had been absconding for 18 years, was arrested from a residence in the Vatva area of Ahmedabad.
The Godhra incident in 2002, which involved a train carrying Ram devotees from Ayodhya being set ablaze at the Godhra station, resulted in the deaths of numerous devotees and sparked widespread communal riots across Gujarat. In the aftermath of these events, Qureshi and her husband allegedly collected INR 50,000 from people in 2005 and used the funds to purchase guns and cartridges from Gulam Rabbani Sheikh of Uttar Pradesh.
The couple, along with Sheikh and a relative in Ahmedabad, were arrested in 2005, with 10 country-made guns and cartridges seized from their possession. Qureshi was subsequently charged under the Arms Act in 2005 but managed to evade capture until now.
Qureshi’s husband, Firoz Kanpuri, also an accused in the case, passed away in 2009. The arrest of Qureshi, 18 years after she went into hiding, marks a major success for the Gujarat ATS. She has been remanded to police custody for three days as investigations continue.
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