18 more individuals including Tiger Memon, Chhota Shakeel designated as 'terrorists' under provisions of UAPA Act

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Tuesday informed that the Government of India has declared 18 more individuals including Tiger Memon, who had hatched a conspiracy plan in the Bombay blasts and Chhota Shakeel as designated "terrorists" under provisions of the UAPA Act.

The list includes Pakistan-based terrorists - LeT's Yusuf Muzammil accused in 26/11 Mumbai attack, Abdur Rehman Makki - Brother-in-law of LeT chief Hafiz Saeed, Yusuf Azhar involved in 1999 Kandahar lC-814 hijacking and Ibrahim Athar, who was involved in Kandhar hijacking case and also the key conspirator in the Parliament terrorist attack, according to a release by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Shaikh Shakeel alias Chhota Shakeel, Pakistan based Associate of Dawood Ibrahim, looks after all criminal and underworld operations of D-Company. He finances D-Company operatives of India and involved in the smuggling of firearms to Gujarat during 1993.

Other individuals designed as terrorists include Sajid Mir, top LeT Commander and one of the main planners of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, Shahid Mehmood, Deputy Chief of proscribed orgsation Falah-i-lnsyat Foundation (FIF), a frontal orgsation of terror orgsation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Farhatullah Ghori, who was involved in 2002 Akshardham Temple attack and suicide attack on Task Force office in Hyderabad in 2005, Abdul Rauf Asghar, who was involved in setting up of training camps in Pakistan for recruitment and militant training and key conspirator in the terrorist attack on Parliament.

Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar's associate Javed Chikna and Mohammad s Shaikh who were involved in 1993 Bombay Bomb Blast case also featured in the list.

Indian Mujahideen (IM) founder Riyaz Ismail Shahbandri and co-founder Md Iqbal along with Zaffar Hussain Bhat, who is Deputy Chief of Hizbul Mujahideen and also handles financial affairs of Hizbul Mujahideen have also been designed as terrorists.

Syed Mohammad Yusuf Shah, Supreme Commander of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Deputy Supreme Ghulam Nabi Khan and Shahid Latif, JeM's Commander of Sialkot sector, involved in launching of JeM terrorists into India.

"Reinforcing the commitment of strengthening national security and its policy of zero tolerance to terrorism, the Modi Government today has declared the following eighteen more individuals as designated terrorists, under the provisions of the UAPA Act 1967 (as amended in 2019) and included their names in the Fourth Schedule of the said Act," MHA said.

( With inputs from ANI )