New Delhi, Delhi Police on Tuesday said it had arrested 6 terrorists, including two trained in Pakistan, and averted Pakistan-orchestrated terror attacks planned in various parts of the country, including Delhi, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, during the upcoming festival season.
Delhi Police's Special Cell, which is the anti-terror unit of the force, said it busted the terror module in a multi-state operation over the last several days following inputs from the central intelligence agencies.
Special Commissioner of Police Neeraj Thakur told a press conference that it was a Pakistan-orchestrated terror module, which was a nexus between Pakistan’s ISI and the underworld. The accused were receiving instructions from across the border.
Thakur said the module was planning to target crowded areas in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra during Navratri, Ramleela and Diwali celebrations.
He added that it could not be ruled out that they had plans to carry out blasts during political rallies during the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections.
The arrested persons have been identified as Jaan Mohammad Shaikh (47) alias Sameer Kaliya of Maharashtra, Osama (22) of Delhi’s Okhla, Moolchand (47) of UP’s Rae Bareilly, Zeeshan Qamar (28) of Allahabad in UP, Mohd Abu Bakar (23) of Bahraich in UP and Mohd Amir Javed (31) of Lucknow in UP.
Sheikh, an underworld operative, was apprehended near Kota in Rajasthan while he was on his way to Delhi. Osama was nabbed from Okhla and Bakar from Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi, Zeeshan from Allahabad, Javed from Lucknow, and Moolchand from Rae Bareilly.
Among those arrested, Osama and Zeeshan were trained in Pakistan, and were working under the instructions of spy agency ISI. They were tasked to conduct the reconnaissance of different suitable locations in Delhi and UP for placing the IEDs.
According to the police official, the accused had been assigned specific tasks to execute the plans.
An underworld operative - Shaikh, a close contact of Anees Ibrahim, brother of Dawood Ibrahim, was tasked by a Pakistan-based person connected with the underworld to ensure smooth delivery of IEDs, sophisticated weapons and grenades to different terror groups across India.
Police had received input from a central agency that a Pakistan-abetted and sponsored group of terrorists was planning to execute serial IED blasts in major cities in India. For this, the group had got multiple IEDs arranged from sources across the border. Inputs further indicated that an Okhla-based group was an important part of the module.
The police said Osama had associates based in various parts of the country, including Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.
To unearth the conspiracy, a comprehensive investigation was initiated. On September 14, raids were conducted in different states. During the initial investigation, it was found that the module had received sophisticated RDX-based IEDs, grenades, Italian-made pistols and cartridges from a sleeper cell.
The accused will now be produced in a court for police remand. The police added that the probe is on, and further questioning will be done.
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