New Delhi, Jan 20: With the arrest of four persons with suspected ISIS links from Manglour in Uttarakhand, Delhi Police Wednesday claimed to have unearthed a terror plot to target the ongoing Ardh Kumbh Mela at Haridwar, particularly trains heading there and some strategic locations in the national capital.
The suspects, identified as Akhlaq ur-Rehman, Mohammed Osama, Mohammed Azim Shah and Mehroz were arrested from Manglour town in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar district on Tuesday and produced in a court here today which sent them to 15 days’ police custody, Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Arvind Deep said.
“The four suspects were tracked down with inputs from a central intelligence agency. They had planned to carry out terror attacks at the Ardh Kumbh mela, trains heading towards Haridwar passing through Roorkie and some strategic locations in Delhi,” Deep said.
According to sources, the suspects were allegedly in contact of a former Indian Mujahideen operative, who later went for training in Syria and is presently believed to be a key member of Ansar-ut Tawhid fi Bilad al-Hind (AuT) which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
One of the suspects, Akhlaq, is also being questioned in connection with the attacks at Pathankot. Meanwhile, their involvement in all possible networks, including the AuT-ISIS, is being verified, the source said.
The suspects have been booked under provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Special Commissioner Arvind Deep refused to comment on the outfit which the suspects belong to but said, “The national capital faces threat until the entire module is busted.”
Delhi was put on high alert and security was stepped up earlier this month after the Special Cell received input about the presence of some Jaish-e-Mohammed key members in the city two days after the attack at Pathankot.
On Monday, two persons with suspected al Qaeda links were detained from Mewat in Haryana. However, Delhi Police Special Cell has so far claimed to have arrested only one.
Senior officials have also reviewed the security on Wednesday in view of upcoming Republic Day celebrations, an official added.
ITBP vehicle with blue beacon stolen, cops launch manhunt
Noida, Jan 20: A blue-beacon installed SUV of a senior IPS officer was stolen in the wee hours on Wednesday from Noida prompting police to launch a massive manhunt in the wake of the security alert for Republic Day.
Officials said the white Tata Safari bearing registration number CH-01 GA 2915 of ITBP Inspector General (IG) Anand Swarup was stolen from his Sector-23 residence at around 3:30 AM.
They said the guard on duty in the complex alerted about the missing vehicle after which an FIR was lodged by the officer in Sector 24 police station in Noida.
The vehicle was parked late last night after it came back from Delhi, they said.
Swarup, a 1992-batch Indian Police Service officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, is posted as IG (Provisioning) at the headquarters of the border guarding force in Delhi.
ITBP has instituted a court of inquiry into the incident, they said, adding the IG was posted in Delhi few months back on transfer from Mussoorie.
Officials said the SUV was purchased few months back and has a blue beacon, a two-star police IG plate and an ITBP flag in the front.
The police are making all efforts to trace the vehicle in the wake of the recent Pathankot attack where terrorists had overpowered an Punjab police SP riding a similar vehicle to reach the IAF base before launching the deadly strike.
There have been instances in the past when vehicles with beacon, including during the Parliament attack, were used to launch terror attacks by hoodwinking security officials.
The National Capital Region is already on high alert in view of the Republic Day celebrations.
