Surat: The city’s crime branch on Friday apprehended a 25-year-old man from Bihar, who is allegedly the main handler in contact with the arrested Maulvi Timol, accused of planning the murders of BJP leaders. Identified as Shehnaz, also known as Mohammed Ali Mohammed Sabir, he was captured near the Nepal border in Muzaffarpur, Bihar.

It is learned that Shehnaz communicated with Timol from a mobile number with the Nepal country code (+977) and promised to provide him with a pistol to assassinate Hindu Sanatan Sangh president Updesh Rana of Surat. This information emerged during Timol’s interrogation. The investigations also revealed that Shehnaz was the main intermediary who introduced Timol to the Pakistani handler known as ‘Dogger.’

The crime branch officials stated that with the arrest of Shehnaz, they aim to unravel the extent of this network and identify all those involved in plotting the murders of BJP politicians and others. The crime branch is also probing Shehnaz’s past visits to Surat and Gujarat and verifying the identity of the Pakistani handler, Dogger.

Timol was apprehended on May 4 in Surat after investigations revealed his plans to target BJP politicians Raja Singh, Nupur Sharma, Rana, and Sudarshan TV editor Suresh Chavhanke. Timol resided in Kathor village and allegedly propagated radical ideologies among children. DeshGujarat