New Delhi: Claiming to foil a major terror plot, Delhi Police‘s special cell busted an ‘IS-inspired’ module and detained about a dozen suspects from Delhi, Ranchi and other places in coordinated raids on Tuesday and Wednesday. At least five of the suspects were placed under arrest by late Wednesday while others were still being interrogated.Two of the suspects were intercepted in a southeast Delhi locality. They came to Delhi from Mumbai, a source said, identifying them as Abu Bakr alias Sufian and Aftab. The third suspect, Danish, was nabbed from Ranchi.During the raids, police seized several items, including hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, sodium bicarbonate and sulphur powder, which are used for making improvised explosive devices (IEDs). “Other seized items include a pH value checker, ball bearings, four knives, Rs 10,500 in cash, a weighing machine, a beaker set, safety gloves and a respiratory mask. A box containing electronic components like strip wires, circuit, motherboard, diodes and copper was also recovered,” the source added.Officially, police remained tight-lipped, citing ongoing operations. When contacted, additional commissioner (special cell) Pramod Kushwaha said, “An anti-terror operation is currently underway and details can’t be disclosed at this stage.”The cell conducted the operation after receiving an alert from a central intelligence agency about the movement of some terror suspects allegedly in the advanced stage of carrying out terrorist activities and disrupting communal harmony.Acting swiftly, police laid traps and apprehended two suspects — Abu Bakr alias Sufian and Aftab — near Sarai Kale Khan in southeast Delhi on Tuesday night. Simultaneous raids were conducted in other cities, including Mumbai and Ranchi, resulting in the detention of a dozen suspects.Danish, the suspect arrested in Ranchi, was staying in a lodge for the past 18 months. He belongs to Bokaro district and claimed to be a graduate in English. Based on his disclosure, the cops, along with sleuths from the Jharkhand anti-terror squad, conducted raids in Palamu as well.Police said the investigation revealed that the suspects were in touch with each other and their handler through encrypted messaging apps Signal and Telegram. “They had formed a group named ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’, a concept floated by terrorist groups to wage war in the Indian subcontinent to establish Islamic rule,” said another source.The suspects, inspired by IS ideology, were allegedly planning to carry out IED attacks and wanted to establish an Islamic Caliphate. However, the probe suggests that an ISI operative was masquerading as an IS recruiter, a modus operandi often coming to the fore in several terror modules busted by Indian agencies.The joint interrogation of the suspects detained during the raids is underway by various agencies, which are looking to unravel the extent of the plot and the involvement of other suspects.Delhi Police filed an FIR under offences of promoting propaganda to create enmity between communities, disturbing religious harmony, and possessing illegal weapons. Police also recovered several digital devices that have been sent for forensic examination. Cops said the suspects revealed that their handler was teaching them to assemble IEDs online and instructed them to buy a range of items, including chemicals, to prepare a bomb.
