Arrested Taliban operative speaks many Indian languages

PATNA - An Afghan national with links to the Taliban continues to shock police officials in Bihar’s Purnia jail. After threatening to go on hunger strike unless given two kg of mutton and one kg of chicken daily, the man told police he can speak several Indian languages.

Ghulam Rasool Khan alias Khan Mirza was arrested in Purnia district for trying to sneak into Bangladesh and is currently in police custody for two days.

“Ghulam Rasool Khan told us he can speak many Indian languages including Urdu, Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada and English,” a police official who took part in the interrogation at Purnia jail told IANS. “He can also speak Persian.”

“His knowledge of so many Indian languages shows his style of operations. The police team interrogating him was stunned that he can speak more languages than most of the top police officials in Bihar,” the official said.

Earlier, he threatened to launch a hunger-strike in Purnia jail if he was not given two kg of mutton and one kg of chicken daily. Khan refused to eat the vegetarian food served to him in the jail. He told officials he was a habitual meat eater.

The Afghan national reportedly said he used to eat two kg of mutton and one kg of chicken daily for the past five years.

The top brass of the state administration has been informed about this development.

According to police, Khan has confessed to links with the Taliban in Afghanistan.

“He told police about his connections with the Taliban,” Additional Director General of police U.S. Dutt said.

On the basis of intelligence inputs, Khan was arrested in Purnia district Jan 13 while planning to cross the India-Bangladesh border. A Pakistani passport and other important documents were recovered from him.