The third suspected member of the Lashkar-e-Taiba module tasked to carry out a terror strike at a crowded market place here has been arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell at Hazaribagh in Jharkhand. The accused is being brought here on transit remand.
Tawseef Ahmad Peer (22), a resident of Sopore in North Kashmir, had been living with his cousin Ehtesham Farooq Malik (24) and his mother in Hazaribagh for the past one month. He planned to join a private educational institution there.
Ehtesham, a laboratory technician, was arrested along with another suspected LeT conduit, Shafaqat Ali Tuggu (23), at Tughlakabad Extension in South Delhi. Tawseef also allegedly joined the terror outfit and planned to visit Pakistan for training in the handling of weapons like his cousin.
Ehtesham had allegedly crossed over to Pakistan on a valid visa, undergone weapons and improvised explosive device training in December 2011 and returned in January. Tawseef was allegedly aware of Ehtesham's activities and the module's plans to target the Chandni Chowk area of Delhi in the first week of March.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Arun Kampani said on Thursday that sulphuric acid, wires and flash powder, which is used to make crackers, were seized from Ehtesham and Shafaqat, Memory cards and five mobile phones were also seized. “Shafaqat holds a B.Tech. degree and Ehtesham is a laboratory technician. Both the accused have a science background,” he said.
Ehtesham was earlier arrested along with two other suspected terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir in 2007. His father later got a house constructed in Hazaribagh where Ehtesham and his mother had been living for the past three years. The police are trying to identify his handlers, who are suspected to be operating from the Kashmir Valley.
The Special Cell, in coordination with its counterparts in Jammu and Kashmir, is on the lookout for the fourth member of the module named Muzammil Amin Dar. “Raids are being mounted in different States,” said a police officer.
