ATS commandos stand guard outside a house where Saifullah was hiding

NEW DELHI: One terror suspect was killed as anti-terror operation in Thakurganj area of Lucknow ended after almost 12 hours in the wee hours of Wednesday.

Police refuted as "false" earlier reports of two terror suspects holed up in a house in the outskirts of Lucknow.

"After opening the doors of the house (where the terrorist was holed up), the force went inside and found the suspect dead along with weapons," Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Daljit Chaudhary said.

"At one point of time it appeared that more than one person was holed up inside the house," he said.

Chaudhary said that the operation "stands closed now. Rest of the legal formalities will subsequently take place."

IG ATS Aseem Arun said that the terror suspect, identified as Saifullah, was a member of the ISIS Khorasan module.

Saifullah was linked the group that triggered a low-intensity blast in Bhopal-Ujjain train in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday morning, injuring 10 passengers. The morning blast on the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train at Jabri railway station was the first instance of a terror strike by an IS module in India.

Arun said, "Efforts were made to catch the suspected terrorist (identified as Saifullah) alive, but unfortunately this did not materialise. We fired tear gas shells and chilly bombs, so that he comes out. But, he did not come out."

The ATS commandos then stormed inside the house (after issuing a warning to the terrorist), Arun said, adding "The suspected terrorist then fired at the ATS commandos, which was then appropriately retaliated by the ATS commandos. After this, two rooms were thoroughly searched and checked, and the person identified as Saifullah was found dead."

"One pistol, revolver, knife and ammunition have been recovered," he said.

The commandos also saw a wire wrapped around the stomach of the terror suspect, Arun said.

"We suspect that it could possibly be an explosive. Hence, the Bomb Disposal Squad has been called to clear the room first. After this the investigations would commence," he said.

(With inputs from PTI)



In Video: Lucknow siege ends, terror suspect linked to MP train blast killed