12 of Jaish cell plotting attacks caught in Delhi

After the Pathankot airbase attack by Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed, the intelligence agencies and the Delhi police special cell on Wednesday smashed a Jaish module that was planning to target key Indian cities, including New Delhi. The police has so far arrested three persons and detained at least nine others for further investigations.

Intelligence reports suggest some members of the module were in touch with Abdul Rauf, brother of Jaish chief Maulana Maso-od Azhar, via social media. Rauf’s name had come up in the Pathankot incident. In the past few months, intelligence agencies have be-en closely tracking Jaish, which is trying to reactivate its Indian networks.

“We are aware of Jaish’s plans to again become active in India. It has been trying to rope in fresh cadres. Some of these could well be linked to the banned Simi. Intelligence agencies have been closely monitoring cyberspace for any suspicious activities, and the initial breakthrough in this case came from that, after which the Delhi police was roped in. There were inputs that Jaish was planning terror attacks in major cities, including Delhi,” a senior official said.

Those arrested were identified as Sajid, of Chand Bagh area, Sameer Ahmad, a native of Loni in Ghaziabad, and Shakir Ansari, from UP’s Deoband district. They were arrested Tuesday night. The police said those arrested were planning a series of attacks in Delhi.

“One of the accused, Shakir, was about to visit Pakistan. He confessed he was in touch with Maulana Masood Azhar’s brother Abdul Rauf. They learned assembling of bombs from the Internet and arranged funds themselves. More arrests are likely to be made,” the official added.

“The police was following the youths for six months. All were detained after technical surveillance and after their links with JeM were established,” special commissioner Arvind Deep said.