The Delhi Police Special Cell has arrested the National Investigation Agency's most wanted terrorist Shahnawaz alias Shafi Uzzama. The NIA had placed a reward of Rs 3 lakhs on the arrested terrorist Shahnawaz and he was wanted in the Pune ISIS case. The Delhi Police said Shahnawaz, an engineer by profession, was a resident of Delhi and had escaped from Pune police custody. The Delhi Police has also arrested two other suspected IS terrorists with him.
All three accused have been sent to seven days of police remand, the Delhi Police Special Cell said.
The police said the module was planning to carry out terror incidents in North India and was taking instructions from foreign-based handlers. Incriminating materials were recovered including materials suspected to be used for IED fabrication.
Further investigation revealed that a foreign-based handler had possibly put Shahnawaz in touch with two other terror operatives with instructions to execute a terror strike, ANI reported.
According to sources, Mohammad Shahnawaz was an operative of the Delhi and Pune ISIS module, while the other two, also suspected ISIS terrorists, were linked to the Delhi module. The other two caught with him were also educated and one was an engineer by profession.
Sources said they were hatching a conspiracy to attack crowded areas during festivals and Delhi, Haryana, UP and Rajasthan were on their target list.
The arrest comes after the NIA had released pictures of four terror suspects, including that of Shahnawaz who was wanted in the Pune ISIS module case last month and declared a reward money of Rs 3 lakh each for credible information leading to their arrest. The agency assured that the identity of the informant will be kept confidential. Shahnawaz was briefly caught by Pune Police on the intervening night of July 17-18 when he was trying to steal a motorcycle in the Kothrud area of Pune, news agency ANI reported.