‘White collar’ terror module interrogation takes odd turn as Haryana preacher fixates on unpaid rent, not legal charges

A police interrogation took an unexpected turn after a Haryana preacher detained for alleged links to the ‘white collar’ terror module busted in Faridabad appeared less concerned about the gravity of the charges and more focused with recovering unpaid rent from the arrested doctors involved in the case, PTI reported.

Maulvi Ishtiyaq, a religious preacher from Mewat in Haryana, was arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir Police for allegedly storing 2,500 kg of explosive material, including ammonium nitrate, potassium chlorate, and sulphur, at his rented residence near Faridabad's Al Falah University, which has now emerged as the epicentre of operations for the terror module.

The ongoing scrutiny by Srinagar police is part of a probe into the ‘white-collar’ terror network of the banned Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind. The network was first uncovered on 10 November, hours before the car bomb blast near Delhi's Red Fort, leading to the arrest of eight individuals, including three doctors.

One of them, Dr Umar-un-Nabi, evaded the arrest and was found to be driving the explosive-laden car that blew up outside the Red Fort, killing 15 people and injuring multiple others on November 10.

The preacher's shocking statement

Maulvi Ishtiyaq's name came up during the interrogation of one of those nabbed doctors — Dr Muzammil Ganaie, who was identified as a key member of the ‘white-collar’ terror module.

He was arrested from the University, after which the police team traced the location of the explosives at the residence of the preacher, PTI reported.

However, Ishtiyaq told his interrogators a shockingly different story, claiming that Ganaie and Umar had approached him earlier this year, asking him to store what they described as “fertilisers” for a monthly storage fee of ₹2,500, according to PTI.

Living below the poverty line and struggling to support his four children and family, the preacher's immediate and desperate demand to the officials was to recover the outstanding six months' rent owed by Ganaie and Umar so he could send the money back home.

How did the investigators react to the plea?

The officials recounted the bizarre disparity between the heinous nature of the crime — storing enough material for a massive terror attack — and the detainee's single concern for his rent, which was “enough to briefly break the tension in the interrogation room,” PTI reported.

“The incident provides a bizarre and tragicomic look into the lives entangled on the fringes of major terror plots,” said a senior police official.

Maulvi Ishtiyaq's story was supported by Ganaie during the probe, post which the preacher was handed over to the State Investigation Agency (SIA) for further action.

All about the operation that unveiled a terror network

The entire operation that busted the terror module on 10 November began on the intervening night of 18-19 October, after the appearance of banned JeM posters, threatening attacks on police and security forces just outside Srinagar city.

Investigations led the police to Al Falah University, near which 2,900 kg of explosives was found to be stored.

Three individuals — Arif Nisar Dar alias Sahil, Yasir-ul-Ashraf and Maqsood Ahmad Dar (alias Shahid) — were arrested after CCTV footage captured them pasting the posters. During interrogation, they identified former paramedic turned-preacher Maulvi Irfan as the person who supplied the posters, leading to his arrest, PTI reported.