Explosives recovered from hideouts of recently arrested terror suspect

The Delhi Police’s Special Cell, along with other Central agencies, has gotten its hands on raw materials used in making explosives in an ongoing raid, sources said on Thursday.

The findings and recoveries have been made from the suspected locations related to Ashar Danish, the same man who was recently arrested in connection with the suspected ISIS module busted by the Special Cell in coordination with the Jharkhand Police.

Advertisement

The raid followed the questioning of the five suspects who had been arrested recently in connection with the same terror module.

It is being said that the suspects may have been gearing up for a major terror attack.

The arrested terror suspects were identified as Ashar Danish, alias Ashrar Qureshi (23), an English honours graduate from Ranchi; Aftab Qureshi and Sufiyan Abubakar, both from Mumbai; Mohammad Huzaifa from Telangana; and Kamran Qureshi from Madhya Pradesh.

During investigation, the accused confessed to have been radicalised online by a Pakistan-based handler, allegedly intended to acquire land, designate it as a ‘Khilafat zone,’ and initiate ‘Jihad’ in India.

“Danish, the mastermind of the plot, who coordinated with other members and executed tasks on behalf of the handler, referred to as the ‘CEO’ and also went by the names ‘Professor’ and ‘Gazba’, was arrested in Jharkhand,” Pramod Kushwah, Additional Commissioner of Police (Special Cell), said.

“They were guided to promote the idea of ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’ and initiate violent activities,” the officer added.

Their plan was two-fold. First, they had to form a Khilafat-style group. They have their own team, which is called Lashkar, and after that, they had to do jihad, the Ghazwa-e-Hind type, based on their distorted concept of understanding of Islam. Plus, some targeted killings were to be tasked to them.

The officer further said that the Pakistan-based handler shared weapon blueprints, ideological material, and directions for making Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) via encrypted social media chats. “Those held in Delhi had been sourcing weapons from a man in Mewat and were preparing to escape the city via Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station when the police apprehended them,” the officer said.

“For the past six months, our teams had kept an eye on their activities and maintained surveillance. Two suspects were ultimately arrested in Delhi while trying to leave the city. Their primary agenda included recruiting youngsters into their fold,” he added.

Earlier, the operation began with the arrest of two operatives close to Nizamuddin Railway Station in Delhi. Following their disclosures, police teams carried out raids in Ranchi, Rajgarh, and Telangana, arresting three additional suspects.

He further revealed, “From the suspect’s hideouts, officers recovered sulfur powder, sodium bicarbonate, ball bearings, gas masks, electric wires, fuse points, cartridges, and other IED materials. The electronic equipment seized is under scrutiny by central agencies.”

“The group was also being trained in weapon and cartridge-making. We arrested them on Wednesday and took them on police remand to uncover the full module. In addition, 11 people were detained during the operation, out of which five have been arrested.”

The police also said that the group was in the process of raising funds to purchase land to establish a so-called “Khilafat zone,” a model previously attempted in Maharashtra by Saquib Nachan.

Initial investigations indicate that the module is part of a fresh network, with no connection to those of earlier dismantled terror groups. The handler, operating from Pakistan, relied solely on social media platforms for communication and recruitment.

“The accused are currently being interrogated by our team to ascertain their wider network, sources of funding, and potential targets,” the officer stated.

The police said their arrests have averted a major terror strike in the country. Further investigation is underway.