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LeT handler Shabir Ahmed Lone held in Delhi's Ghazipur; sent to 5-day police custody

New Delhi, Mar 30 (PTI) The Special Cell of Delhi Police has arrested a suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) handler, Shabir Ahmed Lone, from the Ghazipur area here, officials said on Monday. After his arrest, he was produced before a court, which sent him to five days of police custody. Terming Lone as a "hardcore and highly-trained terrorist," the police said that he reportedly established links with handlers operating on behalf of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). "Lone, also known by aliases Raja and Kashmiri, is a resident of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir and was allegedly operating as the handler of a recently busted module involved in pasting anti-national posters across multiple locations in Delhi and Kolkata," a senior police officer said. According to the officer, a team from the New Delhi Range of the Special Cell arrested Lone on March 29 in connection with the LeT module that had recently been unearthed in the metro poster case on February 22. "During the arrest, police recovered multiple foreign currencies and other incriminating material from his possession. These 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. A Nepalese SIM card was also seized, raising suspicions about cross-border communication and operational coordination. "The module was being run at the behest of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), with Lone acting as a key conduit between handlers based abroad and operatives on the ground in India," the officer said. Lone had a long history of involvement in terror activities and had been previously arrested in 2007. At that time, an AK-47 rifle and a hand grenade were recovered from his possession. He was again arrested in 2015 in Srinagar under the jurisdiction of Parimpora Police Station. The officer also said that even during his earlier arrest, Lone had come to Delhi with the intent to carry out targeted killings. He is a highly trained operative who has undergone terror training "Daura-e-Aam" (basic terror training) and "Daura-e-Khaas" (advanced terror training) from the Muzaffarabad LeT camp in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Following his release, he allegedly fled to Bangladesh and began rebuilding a fresh terror network targeting India. During his stay in Bangladesh, Lone reportedly established links with new handlers affiliated with LeT. These handlers, identified by their code names Abu Huzaifa and Sumama Babar, were operating on behalf of the ISI. Lone's task was to resume terror activities in India by activating sleeper cells and recruiting fresh operatives. He used Bangladesh as a base to facilitate infiltration and coordination, the officer added. Investigations revealed that Lone had set up an operational base in Kolkata, which served as a launching pad for activities across multiple states. From this base, the module carried out a "test run" by pasting pro-Pakistan and anti-national posters at prominent locations in Delhi and Kolkata, assessing their operational capabilities and response mechanisms. The operatives also conducted reconnaissance of several sensitive locations across the country, including temples and high-footfall public places. Videos of these reconnaissance missions were recorded and transmitted to handlers in Pakistan, police said. The police officer said that Lone had created a structured network involving foreign nationals, particularly from Bangladesh, and was attempting to expand it further by identifying recruits and locations for future operations. Police said that he is currently being interrogated to identify other associates, financial links, and potential targets. Possible hawala channels and cross-border funding mechanisms connected to the recovered foreign currencies are also being probed, police said. "The arrest of Lone marks a significant breakthrough in the ongoing investigation into the metro poster case, which had triggered security concerns," the officer added. On February 22, the Special Cell busted a pan-India LeT module and arrested eight operatives, including seven Bangladeshi nationals, following coordinated raids in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. Those arrested were allegedly acting under Lone's direction and were involved in pasting pro-terror posters and conducting reconnaissance of sensitive installations. Investigators had found that Lone was operating as their handler from Bangladesh and had been actively directing their activities. "The module had been formed with the objective of reviving terror operations in India by exploiting illegal immigration networks and forged identity documents," a police source said. The operatives were tasked with recruiting people and arranging logistics, including safe houses and weapons, the source said. The February crackdown had exposed the broader network and laid the groundwork for tracing Lone's movements and eventual arrest. The timely apprehension of Lone (43) has averted recruitment of vulnerable youths into the ranks of LeT, a Pakistan-sponsored terror outfit banned under UAPA and UNSC resolution. ACP (Special Cell) Pramod Singh Kushwah said that during the interrogation of the accused arrested on February 22, the name of Shabir Ahmad Lone had emerged. The ACP said that according to central agencies' inputs, Lone had entered India through the Nepal border and was preparing to recruit like-minded people for LeT on Indian soil. He was also in contact with Tehrik-Ul-Mujahideen commander Abu Talha and a UAPA-designated terrorist, Asif Dar. Sharing his profile, the officer said that Lone is the main handler of the recently busted Lashkar-e-Taiba module, operating out of Bangladesh. He has studied till Class 8 and completed a two-year Islamic Madrasa course from Salafia Arabic College, Batamaloo in J&K. "In the year 2004-2005, his locality was frequently visited by LeT terrorists, namely Abu Huzaifa, Abu Bakar and Faisal, for food and other logistic support. Abu Huzaifa had recruited him in the LeT cadre during that time. In the year 2016, he was arrested along with Sajjad Gul in Parimpora, Jammu and Kashmir, with the recovery of five live rounds of AK47. His co-accused Gul, after being released from the case, shifted to Pakistan and is currently operating 'The Resistance Front', a LeT offshoot," said Kushwah. Lone had been in contact with Huzaifa through encrypted apps and started radicalising and recruiting youths into the LeT cadre. Huzaifa introduced him to Pakistan-based LeT commander Sumama Babar through an encrypted app. Babar is responsible for radicalising, motivating and recruiting youth in India, primarily in the Kashmir valley, into terrorist ranks through different social media apps. "In 2025, Sumama Babar asked Shabir to recruit Bangladeshis and Indian youths from the states/UTs other than Jammu and Kashmir to carry out terrorist operations in India," the ACP said. Further investigation into the matter is underway. PTI BM AMJ AMJ

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