Delhi Police Arrests Al-Qaeda Terrorist
16 December, New Delhi
Delhi police Wednesdat has arrested an Al-Qaeda terrorist, Mohammad Asif who is a native of Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh.
According to Delhi police, Asif is one of the founder members of Al- Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent floated by Ayman Al Zawahiri in September 2014 to pursue the objectives of the terrorist organisation in the subcontinent.
The police said this is the first detection of any radical extremist in India.
A case under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act has been registered and the accused has been remanded to 14 days police custody for further investigation. Asif was detained after the Delhi Police reportedly received intelligence that he along with other suspected terrorists were planning an attack in the national capital.
Mohd Asif (41), who hailed from Sambhal district in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested on December 14 near Seelampur flyover, following a secret tip-off of the Intelligence Bureau.The official said Asif had established contact over a social media site with one Qasim in 2012.
The official said Qasim was the deputy of one ‘Maulana Asim Umar,’ an Islamic radical operating from Waziristan, Pakistan. Umar was later annointed as Emir of Al Qaeda Indian Subcontinent (AQIS). Qasim then motivated Asif, who was ready to join Al Qaeda, to visit Pakistan. Asif also motivated two more youths to join him and asked Qasim to arrange for funds to facilitate the migration of these youths also, who were fully prepared to join the frontlines of Islamic jihad in Afghanistan under the aegis of Al Qaeda.
On June 23, 2013, the accused, along with two young radicals, left New Delhi via air for Teheran, Iran on the pretext that they had to perform ‘ziyarat’ at the shrine of the late Grand Ayatollah Khomaini in Teheran.After reaching Tehran, the trio was then taken to Waziristan near Afghan-Pak border by various facilitators of Al Qaeda.In Waziristan, Asif underwent intense religious training as he was to act as the principal ideologue of AQIS in India upon his return.
After completion of his religious training, Asif was called in for a meeting, in which the son-in-law of Ayman Al Zawahiri formally announced the formation of AQIS and Maulana Asim Umar was anointed as its Amir. During his stay in Pakistan, Asif also met Riyaz Bhatkal, the chief of Indian Mujahidin, who sought support of AQIS in the operations of IM in India.
The official said after his sojourn in Waziristan, Asif was asked to return to India as the head of Indian wing of AQIS and tasked with motivating and recruiting further prospects for the outfit. The accused landed in Delhi in September 2014 and since then, was deeply involved in the expansion of AQIS in India.
Another AQIS operative was also apprehended this morning from Cuttack district in Odisha in a joint operation by the Delhi and Odisha Police.
”Being the first recognised Indian module of AQIS, which has several Indians known to be operating from the Afghan-Pak region, the arrest is also likely to reveal other modules/sleeper cells of Al Qaeda,” said Arvind Deep, Special Commissioner, Special Cell of Delhi Police.