Source: Times of India
MEERUT: A day after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) busted a major Islamic State-inspired module based in Delhi and UP and arrested two brothers from Amroha, their family claimed that the duo, Saeed and Raees, had been framed. NIA had claimed that Saeed and Raees procured a huge quantity of explosives for preparing IEDs and pipe bombs and fabricated a rocket launcher to carry out terrorist operations.
The brothers run a welding garage on the main road in Saidpur Imma village. Several residents claimed that one of the weapons seized from the shop which is claimed to be a country-made rocket launcher is a hydraulic jack used to lift tractor trolleys in these parts.
“We saw the photographs published in the newspapers today. The rocket launcher looks like a hydraulic jack used for lifting trolleys. It’s very common at welding shops,” a local resident on condition of anonymity said.
The mother of the arrested brothers claimed that they had been framed in the case. “We were confined to our house while the teams made searches. Nobody was allowed to go out or come inside. They (NIA) didn’t tell us why they were arresting our sons. They had nothing against my sons who run a shop,” Mustari said.
While local police refrained from commenting on the matter, residents claimed that the activities of the brothers never raised any suspicion, nor did they have any criminal background to draw attention of law-enforcement agencies.
Local residents also alleged that CCTV footage of the nearby shops in the area were “forcibly erased” by NIA sleuths. TOI could not independently verify the allegations.
