NEW DELHI: In a joint operation with state police and central agencies, the Delhi Police’s Special Cell has busted a Pakistan handler–backed pan-India terror module and arrested five people from different States via multiple raids.
Two of them were planning to purchase land as a base to initiate caliphate related training activities.
The accused have been identified as Ashhar Danish (23), a resident of Bokaro in Jharkhand, Aaftab Qureshi (25), Sufiyan Abubakar Khan (20), a resident of Mumbra, Mohammed Huzaif Yaman (20), a resident of Telangana, and Kamran Qureshi alias Samar Khan (26), a resident of Rajgarh in MP.
Simultaneous raids were conducted at multiple locations in Delhi, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, and Madhya Pradesh.
Incriminating material, arms, ammunition, and chemicals used in making IEDs were also recovered.
Through a tip-off, a terror module with operational footprints in Delhi, Ranchi, Thane, Nizamabad and Rajgarh was identified. The members possessed significant knowledge about preparing gunpowder and fabricating IEDs.
A few of them expressed willingness to sacrifice their lives in pursuit of establishing a caliphate in India under the concept of Gazwa-e-Hind, a senior police officer said.
It was further revealed that Danish, a key figure, was attempting to procure weapons from Delhi/NCR and chemical substances from agro-chemical shops and online platforms.
A trap was laid on Tuesday near Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station, where Qureshi and Sufiyan were intercepted while carrying two semi-automatic pistols, along with 15 live cartridges.
During the investigation on Wednesday, joint raids were carried out in Ranchi, Thane, Bengaluru, Nizamabad, and Rajgarh with assistance from the sister agency. Later, Danish was arrested in Ranchi.
From his rented room, IED-making components and chemical substances were recovered. He admitted that he had procured arms, ammunition and explosives in pursuance of a criminal conspiracy to establish a caliphate through violent means, Additional Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Pramod Kushwah said.
Danish stated that he was receiving instructions from a Pakistan-based handler and was in constant communication with other module members. Later, Yaman was arrested by Nizamabad, who disclosed his involvement in experiments related to manufacturing arms and ammunition under the guidance of Danish. Police also arrested Kamran from Rajgarh, Kushwah stated.
Three pistols, 16 live cartridges, copper sheets and steel hollow pipes, Sulphuric acid, Nitric acid, Sodium bicarbonate, Sulphur powder, pH value checker, ball bearings, weighing machine, Rs 10,500 cash, etc. were recovered from their possession.
Danish, a post-graduate in English from Ranchi, began listening to lectures of Dr. Israr Ahmad and gradually adopted radical beliefs.
He came across individuals like Aaftab Qureshi and Izhar-Ul-Haq on social media, who shared a similar ideology. He created a group and added around 40 people, where discussions centred on establishing a caliphate, Kushwah said.
He also created multiple groups with multiple social media IDs showing himself as CEO of a company, a professor or an NGO operator to disguise any surveillance upon him and his activities. He collected for the procurement of chemicals and purchased Sulphur for making gunpowder.
In August, he procured copper plates to manufacture cartridges. He also obtained a bullet and a country-made pistol from Bokaro to study as a prototype for manufacturing arms.
Aaftab was active on social media platforms and started consuming radical Islamic content around 2020, including speeches of Tariq Masood, Zakir Naik, Israr Ahmed and Tariq Jameel. He became a member of radical groups discussing Jihadi ideologies. He connected with Danish through various social media platforms, police said.
According to the police, Yaman is a B. Pharmacy student who came into contact with Danish three to four years ago, through an online platform.
Danish discussed perceived atrocities against Muslims in India and proposed forming a “Lashkar” to retaliate through armed jihad. Danish assigned him the responsibility of learning firearm manufacturing for jihadist purposes.
Kamran admitted that he came into contact with Danish through the WhatsApp group, which promoted radical ideology for the Gazwa-e-Hind.
He contributed funds to the Danish and was instructed to recruit more members. He and Danish were also planning to purchase land as a base to initiate caliphate related training activities, police added.