Wanted by NIA in 'IS module' case, terror suspect, 2 aides held

Samad Hoque

New Delhi, October 2

Mohd Shahnawaz Alam, a 31-year-old terror suspect, has been arrested along with two other accomplices, the Delhi Police Special Cell said on Monday. Shahnawaz was wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in what is known as the ‘Pune ISIS module’ case. He had escaped from custody in Pune and had been living in Delhi.

Rs 3l BOUNTY ON Shahnawaz Alam

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In September, NIA had put a reward of Rs 3 lakh on Mohd Shahnawaz Alam, who was wanted in the Pune IS module for alleged involvement in blast cases, along with four other terror suspects

Special Commissioner of Police of Special Cell, HGS Dhaliwal, said: “Shahnawaz and his two accomplices Mohammad Rizwan Ashraf and Mohammad Arshad Warsi were arrested today. The Pakistan ISI-sponsored module had camouflaged to show itself as a ‘home grown’ ISIS module. “It was in an advanced stage of planning terror strikes in Delhi,” the Special Cell statement said.

Dhaliwal further said they had a pan-India footprint and their target was important dignitaries to cause maximum casualty.

The police conducted raids at multiple locations of Delhi, Dehradun (Uttarakhand) and Aligarh, Lucknow, Moradabad and Prayagraj in UP which led to the busting of the module. The Central Intelligence Agency and police forces of these three states coordinated with the Delhi Police.

Shahnawaz was arrested from Jaitpur in the national capital while Ashraf was arrested from Lucknow and Warsi from Moradabad in UP. Dhaliwal said: “Shahnawaz conducted a recce in western and southern India, including Hubli and Dharwad in Karnataka. They made temporary camps in the Western Ghats and also conducted explosive tests in wildlife areas”.

They were asked by their handlers in Pakistan to procure local equipment so that they wouldn’t be blamed, Dhaliwal added.

Shahnawaz, who hails from Hazaribagh, was a mining engineer and had an expertise in engineering blasts, Dhaliwal said. Warsi is also a native of Jharkhand with a B.Tech in mechanical engineering from Aligarh Muslim University and had also been pursuing a PhD from Jamia Millia Islamia.

Ashraf, a cleric and B.Tech (computer science), is a native of Azamgarh in UP and made the other suspects take the oath of allegiance for the terror cause. The police seized plastic tubes, iron pipes, timer devices, chemicals, a pistol, cartridges and literature for making explosives in the raid.