BackISIS module case: Nabbed suspected terrorists are engineers, one pursuing PhD
The key accused, Mohammed Shahnawaz, was arrested from Jaipur, while his associates Mohammed Rizwan Ashraf and Mohammed Arshad Warsi were nabbed from Lucknow and Moradabad, respectively.
PremiumThe three suspected terrorists arrested by the Delhi Police in the ISIS module case have a common educational background. The trio are engineers, and one of them is pursuing a PhD, as per the information shared by police officials on October 2.
Mohammed Shahnawaz, who was on the most-wanted list of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), belongs to Hazaribagh in Jharkhand. He had studied mining engineering from the prestigious Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology.
Among his two accomplices who were nabbed, Mohammed Arshad Warsi – also from Jharkhand – had studied BTech in Mechanical Engineering from Aligarh University. He was currently pursuing a doctorate from Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia varsity, officials said.
The third person to be arrested, Mohammed Rizwan Ashraf, completed BTech in computer science. He had also underwent training as a cleric, police said, adding Ashraf belongs to Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh.
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According to officials, incriminating material including those suspected to be used in IED fabrication were seized from the accused during their arrest.
Shahnawaz was nabbed in Jaipur, while Ashraf and Warsi were arrested in Lucknow and Moradabad, in Uttar Pradesh, respectively, they said, adding the three have been remanded in police custody for a week.
Citing preliminary questioning, the police said the accused recced various areas in western and southern India. They wanted to make their base in Western Ghats, the police said
Shanawaz had, earlier, escaped from the custody of Pune Police and was living in Delhi, they said. He carried a reward of ₹3 lakh.
Elementary plastic tubes, iron pipes, different types of chemicals, timing devices, etc, which could have been used in making explosive devices, were seized from Shahnawaz, along with a pistol and cartridges, the police alleged.
Literature on making bombs suspected to have been sent by their across-the-border handlers was recovered, police said.
"Their aim was to target well-known people and inflict maximum casualties," HGS Dhaliwal, senior officer of Delhi Police Special Cell, said during a press briefing, adding that the arrests have exposed a pan-India network of ISIS – the terrorist group which is largely operating in some swathes of Syria and Iraq, and in parts of Afghanistan.
(With ANI inputs)
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