The Delhi Police on Sunday claimed to have foiled a major terrorist strike plot during the forthcoming general elections by arresting top Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorist Zia-ur-Rahman, alias Waqas, a Pakistani national wanted in connection with several bombings, and three of his associates from Rajasthan.
“Waqas, a dreaded terrorist, exported by Pakistan’s ISI, is wanted in a series of bombings carried out all over India,” said Special Commissioner (Special Cell) SN Shrivastava on Sunday. Waqas, reported to be a ‘major catch” whose interrogation is likely to provide more information about the pan-India plans of the IM, was arrested outside Ajmer
Railway Station on Saturday morning when he alighted from a train, which came from Bandra, Mumbai. His three associates, identified as Mohammad Mahruf (21), Mohammad Waqar Azhar, alias Haneef (21),
both residents of Jaipur, and Shaquib Ansari, alias Khalid (25) of Jodhpur, were arrested at his instance in the wee hours of Sunday from their residences with the help of the Rajasthan Police.
The Special Cell also picked two youths for questioning from Shaheen Bagh area of Jamia Nagar in South East Delhi on Sunday morning. The identities of the youths were not immediately known but the sources confirmed that they were found in regular touch with the arrested IM module. They were released late on Sunday night.
“The two youths, basically from Bihar, who were residing at house number 101-A in Hari Khothi lane, Abul Fazal Enclave, were taken into custody by police early morning. One of the two is a Mechanical Engineering final-year student in a college in Jaipur,” a local said.
Earlier in the day, some activists and locals staged a protest outside Jamia Nagar police station on Sunday over what they termed as “illegal arrest” of two youths from the area at about 7 am on Sunday allegedly by the Delhi Police Special Cell. Now, the Special Cell intends to seek the remand of Yasin Bhatkal, who is now in the custody of the Maharashtra Police, to confront Waqas during interrogation. Srivastava said the IM’s Rajasthan module was busted after a sustained investigation over a period of three months.
Waqas was instructed by Pakistan’s ISI to plan and execute spectacular strikes during the political rallies in India. When questioned about the arrested IM terrorists’ specific plans to target BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Shrivastava said that the present level of investigation didn’t point towards it. On whether the terrorists were planning attack on any politician or rally during lok Sabha elections, he said, “Any important event including elections can be targeted but we are at a very preliminary stage of investigation and I would not like to speculate as if now.”
“We have recovered huge amount of explosive materials, detonators, electronic circuits/timers from the residence of these three people from Jaipur and Jodhpur. With this, a spectacular terrorist strike has been averted,” said Shrivastava.
25-year-old Waqas has disclosed that the purpose of his visit to Ajmer was to coordinate and oversee the preparations being carried out by the three terrorists of the Rajasthan module for carrying out a spectacular terror strike, said Shrivastava. An expert in IED and other explosives, Waqas was brought to Delhi and produced in a Special Court which remanded him in 10-day police custody.
Mahruf and Waqar are engineering students in Jaipur while Ansari is running a computer DTP and design printing business, said Shrivastava.
Trained in terror camps in Pakistan, Waqas was allegedly involved in the Jama Masjid attacks on September 19, 2010, the Sheetla Ghat, Varanasi blasts carried out on December 7, 2010, and the blasts carried out at Opera House and Zaveri Bazar in Mumbai on July 12, 2011. The next terrorist strike carried out by Waqas was the Pune serial blasts of August 1, 2012. He was also involved in the Hyderabad serial blasts carried out on February 21, 2013.
Special Cell has registered cases under Explosive Substances Act at Jaipur and Jodhpur in connection with the recoveries made from the terrorists. The cases were registered in Jaipur and Jodhpur to bolster the investigations and also to seek the transit remand of the arrested IM cadres.
He is being interrogated by experts in Delhi Police to elicit more information about the hideous designs of IM especially after the arrest of its Indian chief Yasin Bhatkal from Indo-Nepal border last year.
The Special Cell had been following the clues which had come out from the interrogations of Yasin Bhatkal, Indian Mujahideen co-founder and one of India’s most wanted terrorists, and Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi.