A team of Special Cell, the anti-terror unit of Delhi Police, visited Tihar Jail to question Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorists Tehseen Akhtar alias Monu in connection with a mobile phone recovered from his barrack in Central Jail. Tehseen Akhtar, who was arrested by the Special Cell team of Delhi Police in 2014, was the chief of the banned terror outfit Indian Mujahideen after the arrest of Yasin Bhatkal, co-founder of the terror outfit.
According to a senior police official, a permission was sought from a Delhi court here by the team of Special Cell to question Akhtar in connection with a phone recovered from his barrack which is suspected to have been used for operating a Telegram channel used to claim responsibility for the recent terror threat acts/threats.
“On Saturday police team questioned Akhtar. Police have sought permission from the court to question him and based on it, we may question other inmates if needed,” he added.
The Delhi Police’s Special Cell had approached the Tihar Jail administration on Thursday in connection with the Mukesh Ambani bomb scare case after a new angle emerged.
On Friday, the Delhi Police had said that Based on information provided by the Special Cell, Tihar Jail authorities had seized a mobile phone from a jail where certain terror convicts are lodged and suspected that this phone was used for operating Telegram channels used recently for claiming responsibility for terror acts/ threats.
On Thursday, a senior Mumbai Police official had said a Telegram channel through which an organisation named Jaish-ul-Hind had claimed responsibility for placing an explosives-laden SUV near industrialist Ambani’s residence in Mumbai last month was “created in the Tihar” area of Delhi.
According to Mumbai police, it took the help of a private cyber agency to track the location of the phone on which the Telegram channel was created. “During the investigation, the location of the phone was traced near Delhi’s Tihar Jail and subsequently Delhi Police was also informed,” Mumbai police had said on Thursday.
According to police sources, the Telegram channel was created on February 26 and the message claiming responsibility for placing the vehicle outside Ambani’s residence was posted on the Telegram messaging app late in the night on February 27.
The message had also demanded payment in cryptocurrency and mentioned a link to deposit the same.
During the probe, the link was found as not available, due to which the investigators suspected it to be mischievous. On February 28, another message from Jaish-ul-Hind surfaced on a social media platform, claiming that the organisation did not have any role in the incident.
The investigation in the case was initially conducted by the Crime Branch of the Mumbai police.
The SUV, Mahindra Scorpio car with gelatin sticks was found parked near Antilia, the multi-storey residence of Ambani, in south Mumbai on February 25.
After the mysterious death of Thane-based auto parts dealer Mansukh Hiran, who was in possession of the SUV, the probe was transferred to the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). On Monday, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the case related to the recovery of the explosives-laden vehicle.