Dawood Network Recruited Youths To Target Influential Person In Delhi; Probe Underway

A joint investigation by the Delhi Police Special Cell and Maharashtra ATS has uncovered alleged links between Pakistan’s ISI and a Mumbai-based underworld network that may have been planning to target an influential person in Delhi.

Investigators are now trying to identify the intended target while also examining financial transactions and recruitment efforts allegedly carried out through social media.

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Key points generated by AI, verified by newsroom

• ISI-linked module intended to target influential Delhi individual.
• Recruits lured with money for assignments on behalf of syndicate.
• Pakistan handler instructed youths to travel to Delhi urgently.
• Target's identity remains unknown, instructions to be given later.

Investigators probing the alleged Pakistan ISI-linked underworld module have uncovered fresh leads suggesting that an influential individual in Delhi may have been the intended target of an operation being coordinated from across the border.

According to sources, the investigation into the suspected ISI and Mumbai underworld nexus has revealed that operatives linked to fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim were allegedly recruiting young men and attempting to draw them into criminal networks.

The recruits were reportedly lured with promises of money and instructed to be prepared for assignments on behalf of the underworld syndicate.

Youths Allegedly Directed to Reach Delhi

Sources said the recruits were specifically told to travel to Delhi at the earliest opportunity.

The development came to light after a joint operation by the Delhi Police Special Cell and the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which led to the arrest of 26-year-old Huzaifa Farooq Ahmed Hashmi from Bhayandar, near Mumbai.

Investigators believe Hashmi had been in contact for the past month with Yawar Khan, a Pakistan-based handler suspected of coordinating activities for the network.

Pakistan-Based Handler Allegedly Issued Instructions

According to sources, Yawar Khan had directed Hashmi, along with Sajid Sheikh, who was arrested earlier from Kurla, and Touqeer, arrested from Mumbra, to reach Delhi as quickly as possible.

The handler allegedly informed them that a person in Delhi had to be targeted but did not disclose further details.

During questioning, investigators asked the accused who the intended target was. Sources said Hashmi told interrogators that he had posed the same question to Yawar Khan but was not given an answer.

Target Identity Remains Unknown

According to the accused's statement, the Pakistan-based handler allegedly told the recruits that details about the target would only be shared after they reached Delhi.

Sources said they were informed that further instructions would be provided on the ground once they arrived in the national capital.

As a result, agencies are now working to determine who may have been the intended target and whether the alleged plot had progressed beyond the planning stage.

Money Trail Under Investigation

Investigators have also traced financial transactions linked to the case.

Sources claimed that Hashmi had received around Rs 1 lakh from the network.

During the probe, it also emerged that Hashmi allegedly told other youths that Pakistani gangsters operating through Instagram offered money in exchange for carrying out assignments.

Recruits Allegedly Lured Through Financial Incentives

Sources further claimed that some of the recruits, including Sajid Sheikh and Touqeer, were struggling with drug addiction and viewed the offers as an easy way to earn money.

Investigators believe this vulnerability may have been exploited to draw them into the alleged network.

The probe is continuing, with agencies examining digital communications, financial transactions and the broader links between the suspected underworld operatives and handlers based in Pakistan.