Major terror plot foiled—350 kg explosives, AK-47, ammunition recovered in arms bust in Faridabad; details here
300 kilograms of explosive material, RDX, were recovered during the investigation. A Faridabad doctor was also arrested in connection with the case.
Jammu and Kashmir Police, in coordination with the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Faridabad Police, on Sunday recovered a large quantity of IED-making material and ammunition during an investigation from Faridabad in Delhi-NCR.
A doctor, residing in a Faridabad village, and a Muslim cleric have been arrested by the Police during the operation, which was reportedly carried out based on inputs from interrogations of arrested suspects in Jammu and Kashmir.
Check details of the operation here:
As much as 360 kilograms of explosive material, an AK-47 rifle, and a large cache of ammunition were recovered during the investigation from a rented accommodation in Dhauj village in Faridabad.
Faridabad Police Commissioner Satender Gupta said that “inflammable material, possibly ammonium nitrate” was recovered from the residence of Dr Mujahil Shakil, a student of Al Falah Medical College, originally from Jammu and Kashmir. He had reportedly rented the house in Dhauj about three months ago.
Dismissing initial reports of RDX recovery, Gupta said, “It’s not RDX, as reported initially, but ammonium nitrate.”
The police said that the recovery included 14 bags of ammonium nitrate weighing around 100kg, 84 live cartridges, one AK-47 rifle, timers, and 5 litres of chemical solution. A total of 48 items suspected of being used for assembling improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were seized.
The operation was conducted by the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the IB team, with assistance from the local police.
‘Averted catastrophic terror attack’: Police
A senior officer from the J&K Police said that the recovery was “a major breakthrough that may have averted a catastrophic terror attack.”
According to the HT report, citing Faridabad police, Dr Shakil was taken into custody on October 30, following the arrest of another accused linked to the same terror network, Dr Adil Ahmad Rather.
After interrogation, Dr Shakil was brought back to Faridabad on Sunday morning to identify and recover the hidden materials.
Preliminary investigations suggest that both individuals were part of a larger module suspected to have cross-border links aimed at planning large-scale attacks in northern India.
‘Doctor visited mosque 5 times a day, every day’: Cleric's wife
The cleric's wife told news agency ANI that the Police took away Imam Sahib. “I don't know why he has been taken away. The Police never came to us before...Imam Sahib has been serving at the mosque for the past 20 years,” she said.
“The doctor used to come here five times a day, every day to offer namaz. He hailed from Kashmir,” she shared.
‘More dangerous than Bombay blasts’: Union Minister Giriraj Singh
Union Minister Giriraj Singh claimed that the situation “could have been more dangerous than the Bombay blasts,” which killed at least 257 people.
“This could have been more dangerous than the Bombay blasts...Baba Bageshwar's yatra with large crowds is also ongoing. What would have happened if there had been an attack on it?” he said.
“The question which arises is - whenever a person is caught in such cases, he/she is from one particular community, it is always Muslims. A doctor has been caught in this case,” he added.
Singh also slammed Opposition leaders and said, “There have been no statements on this from Rahul Gandhi, Lalu Yadav, Akhilesh, or Owaisi yet. Is this a conspiracy towards Ghazwa-e-Hind? This is not a small incident, and the people should raise concerns over it.”