Eight suspects have been held for allegedly hatching a major terror conspiracy in Delhi with backing from Pakistan’s ISI and Bangladesh-based operatives, police said on Sunday (February 22). Six were arrested from different parts of Tamil Nadu, while two others were picked up from West Bengal in a related operation.
Seven of the arrested individuals are Bangladeshi nationals and one is a resident of Malda. The Tamil Nadu arrests - Mizanur Rahman, Mohammad Shabat, Umar, Mohammad Litan, Mohammad Shahid and Mohammad Ujjal - were made at garment manufacturing units in Tiruppur district. Police said the accused were allegedly using forged Aadhaar cards and were found with multiple mobile phones and SIM cards, which are being analysed to establish the network’s scale and foreign links.
Bangladesh-Based Direction and Radicalisation
During preliminary interrogation, accused Umar Faruk revealed that he came in contact with Shabir Ahmad Lone alias Raja alias Kashmiri in March 2025. Lone, a native of Kangan in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, was previously arrested by Delhi Police Special Cell in 2007 with a large cache of arms, including AK-47 rifles and grenades. He was allegedly linked in the past to Hafiz Saeed and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and is believed to have trained at Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) camps in Muzaffarabad backed by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Investigators said Umar was indoctrinated and later appointed to spearhead India-bound operations of Lashkar-e-Taiba. The handler’s strategy, officials said, was to use Bangladeshi nationals living illegally in India under assumed identities to execute terror strikes.
Police said Lone had earlier been arrested but was released in 2018–19. He allegedly fled to Pakistan through Bangladesh and re-established contact with Lashkar leadership. Officials believe he was operating from Bangladesh while coordinating India-bound operations.
Kolkata Hideout and Local Arms Procurement
In December 2025, Umar was instructed to conduct reconnaissance of key locations across India, record video footage of sensitive establishments and recruit more Bangladeshi nationals for operational support.
He was directed to rent a hideout in Kolkata to serve as a terror base and share accommodation details with his handler. Lone allegedly instructed him to arrange weapons locally within India. Umar subsequently began contacting local sources to procure arms.
Investigators said the plan was to create a self-sustained module capable of carrying out attacks without immediate cross-border movement of weapons - a method aimed at avoiding border detection and relying instead on internal procurement networks.
Source: India Latest News, Breaking News Today, Top News Headlines | Times Now
