Delhi police bust Al Qaeda terror module, 11 arrested from 3 states

New Delhi, Aug 22 (PTI) The Delhi police on Thursday claimed to have busted an Al Qaeda terror module after arresting of 11 people and detaining three others from Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

After receiving intelligence inputs, an operation was conducted along with the police forces of the states, officials said.

Six people were arrested from Bhiwadi in Rajasthan while they were undergoing training to handle weapons, according to a police officer.

They have been identified as Hasan Ansari, Enamul Ansari, Altaf Ansari, Arshad Khan, Umar Farroq and Shahbaz Ansari, all natives of Jharkhand. They were staying in Rajasthan for the past few days, the officer said. Following they were held, five more people were arrested from Ranchi in Jharkhand. They have been identified as Dr Ishtiyaq Ahmed, Motiur, Rizwan, Mufti Rahmatullah and Faizan, he added.

"The module, as per current state of operations, was being led by one Dr. Ishtiyaq of Ranchi (Jharkhand), and it was aspiring to declare 'khilafat' and execute serious terrorist activities within the country," a Delhi Police statement said.

The members of the terror module were trained, including in handling weapons, at various locations, including in the jungles of the Aravalli Hills in Rajasthan, another officer said. He said a massive operation was launched in the hill's jungles to nab the suspects. The Delhi Police said three more people were detained from Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh for questioning.

Official sources said as of now, teams of the Delhi Police Special Cell have conducted raids in 15 places in the three states.

It is suspected that the module was planning to execute a terror incident in the northern part of India during the upcoming festive season, they said.

The officials said raids are being conducted to recover arms, ammunition and documents. A senior police officer, privy to the operations, said that the Al Qaeda module has been active for the past few months and its members connected through social media.

A case under section of 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered by the Special Cell on July 15, and since then, the anti-terror unit was collecting details of the suspects, the sources said.