NEW DELHI, Oct 12: The Delhi Police is claimed to have arrested a Pakistan-based “terrorist” who was living in the country under a pseudo name and documents for over a decade and planning a major attack in the capital.
The police said on Tuesday that the terror suspect was apprehended from East Delhi’s Laxmi Nagar where he was allegedly living under a fake name. The accused, identified as Mohammed Ashraf Ali (40), has been booked under sections of the UAPA Act, Explosives Act and Arms Act by the Delhi Police’s Special Cell.
“We received a tip that a terrorist was hiding in Laxmi Nagar and could be planning something big in the coming days. Based on the inputs, raids were conducted and Ali was apprehended from his house around 10 pm on Monday. We found an AK-47 along with several arms and ammunition from his house. We suspect he was planning a major attack in the city,” said a senior police officer.
Police said he had been living in the country for 13 years under the name Ali Ahmed Noori with forged Indian documents. Mohammed Ashraf had entered India through Bangladesh on the directions of Pakistan’s ISI and had been living as part of a sleeper cell, Pramod Kushwaha, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Special Cell, told reporters. The module was planning a terror attack during the ongoing festival season, he said.
After questioning him, police have recovered an AK-47 rifle, 60 rifle rounds, two pistols, 50 rounds and a hand grenade from his hideouts in the Yamuna Bank area, Kushwaha said. The special cell operation was monitored by Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana. “It is a good catch by the special cell ahead of the festive season. A big terror plan has been foiled by our team,” Asthana said.
The police said Ashraf is from Narowal in Pakistan’s Punjab province and had been roped in by ISI right after he passed Class X. Kushwaha said Ashraf had been involved in several terrorist activities, including in Jammu and Kashmir, and had earlier lived in Ajmer, Kashmir and other cities. In Delhi, police said, Ashraf had lived at Shastri Nagar and Laxmi Nagar. He had taken up the guise of a maulana and was also involved in quackery to hide his identity. Ashraf was arrested from his residence in Laxmi Nagar’s Ramesh Park locality.
A Pakistan-based handler code named Nasir would give tasks to Ashraf and had provided him with weapons, the police officer said. Ashraf would receive money through hawala transactions, he added. Ashraf had obtained Indian documents through forgery and had also travelled to Saudi Arabia and Thailand on an Indian passport, police said. He had also married a woman in Ghaziabad but abandoned her later, they added.
Ashraf’s former landlord has said they would cooperate with police in the investigation. “He lived here for 6 months. My father got his Aadhar Card made for documentation. After he left, we were not in touch with him. If needed, we will cooperate with the police,” Uzaib, the former landlord, said.
The Patiala House Court has remanded Ashraf in police custody for 14 days.
(Manas Dasgupta)