New Delhi: The Special Cell of the Delhi Police on Friday arrested a key member of the Pune Islamic State (ISIS) module.
The terrorist has been identified as Rizwan Abdul Haji Ali, who carried a reward of Rs 3 lakh and was considered the most notorious figure in the group.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had issued a warrant for Ali’s arrest. He had been evading capture since escaping the custody of Pune police.
Ali, a resident of Daryaganj in Delhi, also allegedly conducted reconnaissance of several high-profile targets in Delhi and Mumbai, along with other members of the Pune ISIS module. Police recovered weapons from Ali’s possession.
A total of 11 accused have been charged by the NIA in the July 2023 case relating to the seizure of arms, explosives, chemicals, and ISIS-related literature in Maharashtra’s Pune.
Rizwan Ali was named in the supplementary chargesheet filed by the anti-terror agency in March this year, along with three other accused.
All the accused were members of the proscribed terrorist organisation, ISIS, and were involved in plans to unleash terror in and around Pune as part of a larger conspiracy to promote the terror activities of the outfit, as per the NIA.
It was also found that the accused were in touch with their foreign-based handler through secret communication apps. They were raising funds by carrying out armed robberies and thefts and were receiving money from their handlers for carrying out their terror activities.
NIA’s investigation also revealed that these men had undergone IED fabrication training at Kondhwa in Pune and even conducted a controlled blast.
They had scouted areas in the Western Ghats for potential hideouts and checked places in cities across Maharashtra and Gujarat to carry out terror attacks, said the NIA.
The accused also had training in shooting while preparing themselves for terrorist strikes, as per NIA findings.
