ISIS terror module busted, five arrested in multi-state searches

Raids were conducted in Delhi, Mumbai, MP, Hyderabad and Jharkhand; the arrested include two from Kalyan & Mumbra; they were working to establish a Khilafat-style network in India under guidance of Pak-based handler

- Ashish Singh

In a major counter-terror operation, the Delhi police special cell, in coordination with central agencies and state Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) units, has busted a pan-India ISIS-linked module and arrested five highly radicalised youths. The raids were conducted in Delhi, Mumbai, Madhya Pradesh, Hyderabad and Jharkhand.

Officials said the arrested accused were allegedly working to establish a Khilafat-style network under the direct guidance of a Pakistan-based handler. The module was being spearheaded by Ashhar Danish, 23, a resident of Bokaro, Jharkhand. The others have been identified as Aftab Qureshi, 25, from Kalyan; Sufiyan Abubakar Khan, 20, from Mumbra; Mohammed Huzaif Yaman, 20, from Nizamabad, Telangana; and Kamran Qureshi alias Samar Khan, 26, from Rajgarh, Madhya Pradesh.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Pramod Kushwaha said the men were indoctrinated through encrypted online platforms and tasked with carrying out a "two-fold mission". "The first step was to form a Khilafat-style group. The second was to execute a Ghazwa-e-Hind style jihad, which included targeted killings and terror attacks," Kushwaha said.