VEHARI, Aug 24: Police and other law-enforcement agencies are interrogating a leader of the outlawed Sipah-i-Sahaba, who was arrested recently in Talikpur village in Mailsi.

Sources disclosed on Tuesday that Qari Muhammad Asghar, also a councillor, had been active in his area as a worker of the SSP since 1994. When the organization was banned, he went into hiding and appeared on the scene at the time of the local bodies' elections.

He was elected general councillor from Talikpur union council and again started activities as the local organizer of the banned outfit, they said. The Qari, they said, also had links with Lashkar-i-Jhangvi chief Riaz Basra and he had been handed over to an investigation agency in Lahore for investigation.

They added that the suspect might reveal some important information during interrogation. However, the members of Qari Asghar's family denied that he had links with any religious organization. They claimed he had been arrested for having differences with some local politicians on fake cases. Relevant police, however, declined to comment on the situation.