3,000 SIMI members under scrutiny

GANDHINAGAR: The home department has asked senior police officials to keep tab on activities of Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), with the banned outfit coming under the scanner as a suspect in the blasts in Mumbai on Terror Tuesday.
SIMI has a presence in several towns of the state, including Bhavnagar, Modasa, Lunawada, Bharuch,Viramgam, Surendranagar and Wankaner.The district authorities have been asked to collect details of the 3,000-odd members of the banned group in a proforma prepared by the home department.
Copies of these forms have been sent to district headquarters, and the filled forms will be scrutinised by the Anti Terrorist Squad.
The home department also plans to gather information of the antecedents of Bangladeshi nationals, illegally residing in Ahmedabad and Surat.
According to the present statistics, there are about 600 Bangladeshis in Ahmedabad and 400 in Surat. The state government also plans to constitute Special Operations Groups (SOG) in all the 25 districts, to work as an elite anti-terrorist squad to deal with the threat posed in Gujarat.
Home department sources hinted that the proposed SOG units would be headed by the police superintendents of each district.
However, the group will function under the ATS. The SOG would consist of at least 800 police personnel, ranging from constables to inspectors. The decision on creating a special group to check terrorism was taken at a meeting of senior police officials convened by home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday.