5 terror suspects held for planning ‘anti-national activities’: Delhi Police

Police said that two of the suspects were arrested from Delhi and one each from Madhya Pradesh, Hyderabad, and Ranchi

Delhi Police’s Special Cell has said it has arrested five terror suspects from Delhi and three other states, allegedly linked to a wider module planning “anti-national activities.”

The arrests followed weeks of surveillance and coordinated raids across states. (Shutterstock)

In a statement, police said they seized hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, sodium bicarbonate, sulfur powder, ball bearings, a weighing scale, beakers, gloves, a respiratory mask, and a plastic box containing strip wires, circuits, motherboards, diodes, and other components. They believe the items were being used to make IEDs.

Police said that two of the suspects were arrested from Delhi and one each from Madhya Pradesh, Hyderabad, and Ranchi. One of the accused, Ashar Danish, a resident of Jharkhand’s Bokaro, was picked up from Ranchi. Md Aftab from Mumbai and Sufian from Delhi were arrested in Delhi, police said on Wednesday. Danish, who was already wanted in a case, was caught with “electronic devices and incriminating material”.

The arrests followed weeks of surveillance and coordinated raids across states. Police teams over two weeks raided more than 12 locations in pursuit of what an officer described as a “larger terror network” linked to banned outfits and handlers abroad.

“We found the accused were part of a module with international links. They were working on instructions from handlers outside India and planning something big in Delhi and other cities,” an officer said. The suspects were communicating through encrypted apps.

In August last year, the Special Cell picked up over 14 terror suspects in Delhi, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, saying they were involved in terror activities and possessed weapons, including assault rifles. Police then claimed an al-Qaeda module inspired the group.