UP man missing since 2012 found in Pak jail

BAREILLY: There was nothing for over a decade. Mohammad Usman‘s whereabouts had remained a mystery. A resident of Deepa Sarai in Sambhal, he vanished in 2012 without a trace – no calls, no letters, no clue about his fate. Then, on Saturday, the silence was shattered. Police suddenly received a letter from the home department confirming that Usman, now 46, was lodged in a jail in Lahore, Pakistan.
The revelation left his family in shock and prompted intel agencies to investigate whether his disappearance was part of a larger, more sinister network – terrorism.
With the Pakistani foreign ministry recently informing Indian authorities that he was arrested “last year”, the mystery surrounding Usman has only deepened.
Deepa Sarai has history of radical connections
Usman had told his family he was going to Delhi before he went missing. His brother, Mohs Farman, recalled a different timeline: “In 1995, Usman had gone to Delhi, where he learnt AC repairing. He remained in touch with the family until 2012 but vanished after security agencies began searching for him as a suspected al-Qaida terrorist.”
Where was he all this while then? Caught off guard by the revelation, Indian home ministry has now tasked Sambhal police with retracing his movements and determining how he ended up in Pakistan. There is also the need to fill up gaps in the chronology.
Authorities suspect Usman may have been linked to a terrorist organisation, though no concrete evidence has emerged. His wife, Razia, and other family members have been questioned, but none could explain how he reached Pakistan, by which route and showing what papers. Meanwhile, police have stepped up surveillance in the entire district, scrutinising travel records and monitoring those who have visited Pakistan in recent years.
Usman’s case is not an isolated one. Deepa Sarai has a history of radical connections. The neighbourhood was home to Maulana Asim Umar, also known as Shannu or Sana-ul-Haq, who became the head of al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent before being killed in a US-Afghanistan operation in 2019. Umar disappeared in the 1990s, and intelligence reports indicate that 10 to 12 young men from Deepa Sarai have gone missing since – many later surfacing in Pakistan.
Sambhal SP Krishan Kumar Bishnoi confirmed Usman’s arrest to TOI, adding an unexpected detail.
“During questioning in Pakistan, Usman mentioned that former Sambhal MP Shafiq-ur-Rahman Barq (grandfather of current Samajwadi Party MP Zia-Ur-Rahman Barq) lived in his neighbourhood and that he also knew a certain Haji Nazeeb well. However, he was unaware that Barq had passed away. We are still trying to find out who Nazeeb is”
Police have intensified their investigation, gathering data on Usman’s finances, communication records, and past movements. “His family members have been questioned, and security agencies are probing all angles,” Bishnoi said. “We are collecting data on mobile numbers, bank accounts, and properties. Possible hawala transactions or high-value bank transfers are also being examined,” he added.