In a shocking incident, the Special Cell of Delhi Police has arrested three suspected terrorists on January 16, 2020 (Thursday). It is being said that these men were allegedly planning an attack in New Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. The arrest was possible only after a series of cross-firing between the police personnel and the suspect in the Wazirabad area of New Delhi, as per an official statement. Three men have been arrested who were later identified as Khaja Moideen (52), Abdul Saman (28) and Syed Ali Navas (32). It is being said that all these three men were allegedly inspired by the Islamic State (IS) ideology for planning an attack. It also is suspected that the accused are also the ones who were involved in the murder of a Hindu Munnani leader -KP Suresh Kumar.
Who are these suspects?
Khaja Moideen has been identified as a native of Tamil Nadu, born in the year 1968. He was previously arrested in the year 2004, for involved in organizing a training camp at Nellikuppam. The camp is said to be propagating conversion into Islam along with training for handling weapons and martial arts. Khaja’s name resurfaced when in 2014, KP Suresh, a local Hindu Munnani leader was murdered by Nawas, Haikm, and Mohd. Shamim on the plan, instructions, and instigation of Khaja Mohideen himself.
Again in 2017, when one of his recruits Shakul Hameed alias Salavadin, an MBA dropout, was arrested from Otteri in Chennai, Khaja hit the news. Khaja Moideen was involved in luring Shakul Hameed to the IS and even arranged for his travel arrangements abroad. Khaja was also arrested by the National Investigation Agency in a terror case for being associated with one Haja Fakkruddin, a native of Cuddalore. Haja is the first man from Tamil Nadu who is believed to have joined the IS after leaving his lucrative job in Singapore.
Syed Ali Navas, the second suspect, is said to have been born in the year 1988 in Tamil Nadu. Syed Ali Nawas was introduced to Khaja Moideen by his neighbor and close friend Abdul Shameem. Khaja has been held responsible for motivating Syed for the cause of Jihad and indoctrinated him toward the IS ideologies. Syed has also been accused of the murder attempt of BJP leader MR Gandhi (68) on April 21, 2017.
The third suspect, Abdul Samad, a young 28-year-old man and is said to have been a former member of the Popular Front of India [PFI]. Abdul Samad is a B.Com graduate since 2011 and has finished his post-graduation in Master of Computer Application [MCA]. Abdul Samad is said to have established contact with Khaja after the latter was released on bail. Given his academic background, Samad is said to be technically very sound.
The trap to catch the suspects by Delhi Police
The Special Cell of Delhi Police has also said that the arrests were made based on an input received about a group of highly radicalized people from Tamil Nadu. These accused were previously charged for committing the murder of KP Suresh Kumar and were released on conditional bail. However, soon after being released they had fled under mysterious circumstances and were later reported to have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) ideology. Pramod Kushwaha, the DCP of the Special Cell, Delhi Police in a statement said that in their regard further specific information was received. We were aware that these three men had received training from the operatives of the ISIS in Tamil Nadu and had managed to enter the state of Uttar Pradesh (East Zone) through the borders of Nepal. On January 09, 2020, Delhi Police was appraised that these three men had shifted their location to New Delhi and were in possession of heavy arms and ammunitions. They were being run by a foreign-based handler and were planning to set up a base camp for an upcoming terror attack in the state of New Delhi. After confirming, their location and other related information a trap was laid to catch the suspects near the Wazirabad Bridge in Delhi. The Special Cell team of the Delhi police acted in a swift manner and thus were successful in apprehending these three terrorists from the said spot, however it was preceded by a brief exchange of firings in the wee hours early morning. The DCP also mentioned in a statement, that as per the findings of the preliminary interrogation, it has been revealed that one of the accused Khaja Moideen had links with the IS.
As per the version of the police, after being released on conditional bail in the case of the murder of KP Suresh Kumar, the accused went towards formulating a strong plan to revive the ISIS network and make it active in India through their co-associates. The police statement points towards many closed-door meetings organized by Khaja Moideen himself, in hideouts which kept changing. These meetings were meant to indoctrinate and to pledge alliance to the ideology of the ISIS. The police are suspecting a foreign handler who was employed to coordinate the plans. It is suspected that Khaja Moideen, heading the plan went to Kathmandu (Nepal) along with Syed Ali Nawaz and Abdul Samad by illegally crossing the borders and producing fake documents. “After setting up a base in Nepal to be used as a hideout they came to Delhi after crossing over from the porous Indo-Nepal border. In Delhi, hideout and weapons were arranged by their foreign-based handler through one of his contacts in Delhi,” they added.
No further inputs have come from the police regarding the foreign handler, who was coordinating the activities of the trio. The police suspect an app through which they were coordinating with the foreign handler and are hopeful to have some information after questioning those who have been arrested. In wake of the upcoming republic day celebrations, the security in the national capital is on high alert suspecting such attacks.
