The Delhi Police Special Cell claims to have averted terror strikes in the Capital with the arrest of a suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative from his house at Mewat in Haryana-Rajasthan border. The accused has disclosed the outfit’s plans to set up sleeper cells in the region for logistical support to strike teams.
According to the Delhi Police, the arrest of Mohammad Shahid (32) is important as it helped them foil a conspiracy to carry out a terror attack in the city in the coming days. The officers, however, refused to divulge further information, stating that the operation was at an “advanced stage” and more arrests are likely in the case. Special Cell officers have purportedly seized from Shahid a diary containing details of a plan to target markets in Delhi.
Shahid was arrested from his house on Monday, over a week after the police started surveillance on him. He was working as a maulvi at Noorani Masjid in the Chhoti Mewli village of Nuh in the Mewat region. The accused is a permanent resident of Bazeedpur village in the same area.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Sanjeev Yadav said: “We received a tip-off towards the end of November that a known LeT operative, Javed Baluchi of Pakistan, had been in touch with a sub-module in Mewat and a conspiracy to foment terror activities in Delhi was being hatched.”
The police developed the input, which led them to zero in one of the outfit’s members in Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan. Subsequently raids were mounted and the accused was arrested.
During interrogation, Shahid allegedly disclosed that he had joined the LeT module six to seven months ago and since then, had been receiving instructions from some Mewat-based handlers.
The police said his local handlers, who are absconding, were in touch with senior Pakistan-based LeT commanders, who planned to target Delhi. The responsibility entrusted to Shahid was to extend logistical support, said Mr. Yadav. According to police sources, the terror module was spread across Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan.
Baluchi, who is a top LeT commander, oversaw the module’s operations. Shahid came under the police scanner after investigators traced Baluchi’s calls to his mobile phone and even recorded their conversations, they said.
