Another person was arrested on Thursday in connection with the al-Qaeda module in the Indian sub-continent from Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh, making it the third arrest in the case.
The accused, identified as Zafar Masood, was arrested by one of the Special Cell teams that were raiding several places across Western UP.
Masood’s arrest follows the nabbing of Mohammed Asif (41), who is also a native of Sambhal, and a madrasa teacher, Abdul Rahman (37) on Wednesday.
Masood is an active member of the al-Qaeda module in the Indian sub-continent (ASIQ) from Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh, said a police official. Masood was subjected to interrogation to ascertain his role and connections within the AQIS module busted by police, the official added.
Police sources said two more suspected operatives of AQIS have been detained at Sambhal, which has emerged as a recruitment hub for the terror wing.
Asif (41) was detained after the Delhi Police reportedly received intelligence that he, along with the other suspect terrorists, was planning an attack in the national Capital.
Following the Paris attacks, police in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Hyderabad have been put on high alert after intelligence agencies reported threat of al-Qaeda terror attacks.
There are intelligence inputs that al-Qaeda might target public places, tourist spots, iconic buildings, and places of worship in these cities. Besides, the Delhi Police’s Special Cell had also registered an FIR on December 6, stating that operatives of the lashkar-e-Toiba (leT) are planning a terror strike in the Capital.