300 SIMI activists in city: Top cop

PUNE: Pune police commissioner Satyapal Singh on Monday said the number of SIMI activists on the Pune police records now stands at 300 compared to 48 a month ago.
"There were only 48 SIMI members on police records. But when I conducted a review after joining here a month ago, over 300 persons are suspected to have involved with SIMI." Singh said while speaking to the media after the launch of 'Mrityunjaya Mission' here on Monday.
"They are involved in underground activities and are working with a changed identity.Moreover, a large number of Bangladeshi nationals are also in the city. They are under our scanner for role in terror activities," Singh said.
Meanwhile, according to senior officials of the Special Branch, majority of the SIMI activists have shifted their base to Kondhwa. "Earlier, they were scattered at Kasewadi, Bhavani Peth and Kondhwa. However, now a lot of SIMI activists have shifted their base at Kondhwa," officials said.
The Special Branch officials, on the condition of anonymity, however, said that the number of SIMI activists in their records was still 47. Of these 47, six have moved to the Gulf while 41 are under Special Branch scanner, an officer said.
"We have kept a close watch on them and on their day-to-day activities. Whenever we find anything suspicious or if these people go missing, we conduct a check at their residence and question them where they had gone," Special Branch officials said.