Alleged al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent operative brought to Delhi from Saudi Arabia

The accused is a cousin of the 2007 Glasgow international airport (United Kingdom) attack mastermind Kafeel Ahmed.

Sabeel Ahmed. Photo: Special Arrangement

In a major breakthrough, an alleged al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) operative, Dr. Sabeel Ahmed, was on Friday brought to Delhi from Saudi Arabia. His custody may be given to the National Investigation Agency in connection with a terror case.

The accused is a cousin of the 2007 Glasgow international airport (United Kingdom) attack mastermind Kafeel Ahmed. He had moved from Bengaluru to Saudi Arabia in 2010-11. “He is said to be a part of the network that planned a drone attack in India,” said an agency official.

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Dr. Sabeel Ahmed was also wanted in a case registered by the Delhi Police Special Cell in 2015. He was declared a proclaimed offender by a Delhi court on July 12, 2016.

In August 2017, the Indian agencies had brought in another AQIS suspect named Syed Mohammed Zishan Ali from Saudi Arabia. He is believed to be married to the sister of Dr. Sabeel Ahmed.

Zishan’s brother Syed Mohammed Arshiyan, another accused, was also in Saudi Arabia and is now believed to be operating from Turkey. Their alleged involvement had come to light after the Special Cell busted a major AQIS network, with the arrest of Cuttack-based cleric Abdul Rehman and others in December 2015.

Rehman allegedly told the police that he met Dr. Sabeel Ahmed in Bengaluru in 2009, shortly after the latter had returned from the United Kingdom.

In 2012 and 2015, he went to Saudi Arabia twice and met Dr. Sabeel Ahmed. Through Arshiyan, Dr. Sabeel Ahmed and some other Saudi Arabia-based elements, he sent some young recruits to Pakistan for training, as alleged.