New Delhi: Delhi Police on Saturday arrested nine men allegedly linked to Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim for planning coordinated terror attacks in Delhi, Mumbai and other parts of the country.
The arrests were made by the Delhi Police Special Cell following what officials described as a prolonged surveillance operation on the suspected module. Police said the accused include residents of Delhi, Mumbai and Punjab, while some are believed to be foreign nationals. A substantial cache of weapons and ammunition was also recovered during the operation.
According to officials, the group had allegedly been tasked with targeting “vital installations and security personnel” in multiple locations across India.
Preliminary investigations indicate that sensitive infrastructure, including airports, railway stations, power plants and nuclear facilities, may have been among the intended targets, according to media reports citing sources familiar with the investigation.
Authorities said the module had been under watch for some time before coordinated action led to the arrests. Investigators are now examining possible cross-border connections, financial networks and the involvement of overseas handlers suspected of directing the activities of the accused.
The arrests come at a time when Delhi remains on heightened security alert following intelligence inputs suggesting possible terror threats in the national capital. Security agencies had recently warned of potential attempts to target crowded locations and prominent government offices in central Delhi through methods including suicide attacks, vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (IEDs), shootings and coordinated strikes.
In response, district police units have been directed to maintain high vigilance and strengthen coordination with intelligence agencies and central security forces.
The latest development also revives memories of last year’s deadly vehicle-borne IED blast near Delhi’s Red Fort that left 15 people dead and several others injured. Investigators had then uncovered an alleged “white-collar” terror network linked to the al-Qaeda-affiliated Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, with several accused reportedly connected to an educational institution in the Delhi-NCR region.
According to officials, further investigation into the newly busted module is underway to determine the full scale of the alleged conspiracy and identify any additional operatives
