The Special Cell in Delhi arrested a suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative from Ghazipur area of Delhi on Sunday, March 29. Officials identified the accused as Shabir Ahmed Lone, a “tough and highly trained terrorist” with links to handlers operating on behalf of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Shabir Ahmed Lone, officials said, is a resident of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir and was involved in putting up anti-national posters in Delhi and Kolkata.
A senior police officer said, “Shabir Ahmed Lone, also known as Raja and Kashmir, is a resident of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir and allegedly worked as a handler of the recently decommissioned module involved in pasting anti-national posters at multiple locations in Delhi and Kolkata.
The officer said that Shabir Ahmed Lone was wanted by the police in connection with the LeT module that was recently unearthed in the February 22 metro poster case.
What was confiscated from him?
Police officials said several foreign currencies and other incriminating material were seized from his possession during the arrest.
“This included approximately 2,300 units of Bangladeshi taka, 1,400 units of Nepalese currency, 5,000 units of Pakistani currency and 3,000 units of Indian currency,” they said.
Suspecting cross-border communication and operational coordination, the police also seized a Nepali SIM card from him.
The officer said, “The module was operated at the behest of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), with Lone acting as a key intermediary between handlers based abroad and operatives on the ground in India.”
Who is Shabir Ahmed Lone?
Shabir Ahmed Lone was earlier arrested in 2007 by a special cell and an AK-47 rifle and a hand grenade were recovered from his possession. He was arrested again in 2015 in Srinagar under the jurisdiction of Parimpora Police Station.
During 2007, he came to Delhi to carry out targeted killings.
He is a highly trained operative who has undergone ‘Daura-e-Aam’ (Basic Terrorism Training) and ‘Daura-e-Khaas’ (Advanced Terrorism Training) from the Muzaffarabad LeT camp in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, PTI reported. He later fled to Bangladesh and worked to rebuild a new terror network targeting India.
During his stay in Bangladesh, Lone allegedly made connections with new handlers affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba. These handlers, identified by their code names Abu Huzaifa and Sumama Babar, worked on behalf of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Investigation revealed that Lone had set up a base of operations in Kolkata and was using it as a launch pad for activities in various states. From there, the module conducted a “trial run” – putting up pro-Pakistan and anti-India posters at prominent locations in Delhi and Kolkata to assess their operational reach and gauge the response of the authorities.
