By Tasneem Bandukwala
In a major counter-terror operation, Delhi Police’s Special cell has arrested five suspects from different states of India. The suspects were held after months of intelligence, seizing large amounts of material used to build improvised explosive devices (IED).
The arrests include Ashhar Danish, apprehended from Ranchi, Jharkhand; Aaftab Ansari and Sufiyan Abubakar Khan, both from Mumbai, arrested in Delhi; Huzaifa Yaman from Telangana; and Kamran Qureshi from Madhya Pradesh. All suspects are aged between 20 and 26.
The module has been alleged to be planning a “major terror attack” based in Delhi, with operational links to handlers in Pakistan. Ashhar Danish, the alleged mastermind, is said to have used aliases like “CEO”, “Gazwa”, and “Professor”.
During raids conducted across Delhi, Jharkhand, Telangana, and Madhya Pradesh, police recovered components and materials common in IED manufacture. The haul reportedly includes chemicals such as power, nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, sodium bicarbonate; ball bearings; electronic equipment including motherboards, wiring, laptops; safety gears like gloves and masks and other hardware like beaker sets and fuse elements.
Additional Commissioner Pramod Singh Kushwaha said, “The raids were carried out after intelligence inputs indicated that a module was planning a major terror attack in the country. We have been tracking them for the last six months.”
He further noted that the suspects were “highly radicalised” and followed a “Khilafat-style” organisational model, with plans for “Ghazwa-e-Hind type” operations.
Authorities are analysing the digital devices seized from the arrested individuals to map out their communication networks, funding sources, and identifying potential targets. The extent of the link to foreign entities is still being clarified. The arrests are being seen as having averted a likely terror strike.