A letter received by Bhopal MP Pragya Singh Thakur in October 2019 and opened on Monday night allegedly carries a threat by an organization called ‘Ansarul’, which is being deciphered as ‘Ansar-ul-Islam’, a Pakistan-based banned militant group.
The letter in Urdu that was accompanied by two pouches of silver powder has been deciphered by the Bhopal police, sources said, though there was no official confirmation in this regard. It yet remains to be determined whether the letter is a prank/fake or real threat perception, police sources said.
The content of the pouches has been sent to the forensic laboratory in Sagar for examination.
Bhopal Deputy Inspector General of Police, Irshad Wali, told media that the powder and the letter were received in October 2019 and both were being probed in detail. He confirmed that the powder has been sent out to the Sagar lab. Wali, however, did not respond to specific questions of THE WEEK about the mention of Pakistan militant organization in the letter.
According to information available, Ansar-ul-Islam was banned by Pakistan in 2008. Its name reappeared in context of a blast that killed 30 in 2010 in Khyber region of the country.
Sources told THE WEEK that the letter also included cross-marked photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Pragya Thakur herself among others.
The letter was mailed from Pune in Maharashtra, sources said, and received at Pragya Thakur’s Riviera Town home in Bhopal in October 2019. It, however, remained unopened till Monday (January 13) night and when Thakur touched the pouch, she reportedly developed itching. Speaking to media, the MP said that there was a big conspiracy against her.
The letter, sources said, allegedly says that even if law did not catch up with her (Pragya Thakur), the 'Ansarul' has a real task of sending her to hell. The letter also said that they (the letter writers) would get heaven for this work and that it would do no good to try to determine who they were and where they were as they were working with their life in their hands.
Meanwhile, state minister Jitu Patwari said that as a people’s representative Pragya Thakur should be more alert and that if the letter had been opened in October itself, probe would have progressed considerably by now.
