6 terrorists including two Pak-trained planning attacks before UP polls arrested by Delhi Police

New Delhi: The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan had boosted terror elements in the regionand some of these notorious guys were going active.

The Pakistani spy agency ISI module was busted by the Delhi police.

Delhi police on central agencies inputs and working in coordination with cops from other states including ATS from poll-bound and communally sensitive Uttar Pradesh busted the Pak-orchestrated module and arrested six of them.

The arrested persons have been identified as Jaan Mohammad Shaikh (47 years old) of Mumbai, Osama (22) of Delhi, Moolchand alias Lala (47) of Raebareli, Zeeshan Qamar (28) of Prayagraj, Mohammad Abu Bakar (23) of Bahraich and Mohammad Amir Javed (31) of Lucknow.

Sameer was picked from Kota in Rajasthan when he was traveling in a train from Mumbai. 

The operation spanned states such as Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh besides the Special Cell in Delhi police. 

"During a raid in the morning, a terrorist from Maharashtra was arrested in Rajasthan's Kota. Three were arrested with the help of the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) while two others were nabbed in the national capital," Neeraj Thakur, Special SP of Special Cell, DelhiPolice, told a press conference. 

The terrorists were planning something big before Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections and also were planning to carry out targeted killings and IED blasts in various parts of the country during the upcoming festival season, especially during Navratras and at Ram Leela gatherings.  

Two of the arrested had reportedly 'received training in Pakistan' in a module supported byfugitive Don, Dawood Ibrahim's brother Anees Ibrahim.

Thakur said these two individuals had traveled to Muscat in April and were then taken toPakistan."On preliminary investigation it has been found that about 15 Bengali (Bangla) speaking individuals were also part of the training exercise," he said adding further information areyet to be ascertained.

"The Special Cell of Delhi police had received inputs from a central agency that a Pakistan-abetted and sponsored group of entities is planning to execute serial IED blasts in India. For this, the group has got multiple IEDs arranged from sources across the border".

He said, "It appeared a very effectively planned and organised module and these terrorists were divided into two teams. One team was asked to keep RDX and other ammunition in safe custody to be used in future". 

The other team was assigned to organise 'funding through Hawala operations'.

The police have recovered two hand grenades, two improvised explosive devices (IEDs), a kilogram of RDX, and a pistol of Italian make.

Interrogation has revealed that two of the accused -- Osama and Qamar -- had travelled to Muscat, from where they were ferried to Pakistan on a ship and a boat.

"In Pakistan, they were kept at a farmhouse at Gwadar, a port city on the southwestern coast of Balochistan region.15 days training was imparted in firearms," the senior police official said.

Qamar and Osama were probably trained at a camp in Thatta, a town in Pakistan's Sindh province.

Considering the gravity of the situation and stakes involved, separate operations were launched and multiple teams were parked in Mumbai, Lucknow, Prayagraj and Rae-Bareilly.

The police say, based on interrogation, that this module had received sophisticated RDX-based IEDs, grenades, pistols, and cartridges from a sleeper cell operative and these were sent to UP for safe concealment.

Sheikh and Moolchand, the "underworld components" of the module acting at the behest of Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) were tasked to ensure transportation of arms and explosives and even funding through hawala channels.