New Delhi [India], March 30 (ANI): A team of the Delhi Police's Special Cell has arrested a wanted Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist, Shabir Ahmed Lone, from the Ghazipur area, officials said on Monday.

Addressing a press conference here, Special Cell officer Pramod Singh Kushwaha said the accused was apprehended under the leadership of newly appointed DCP Praveen Tripathi. The operation was carried out by a team of Inspector Sunil and Inspector Dheeraj Mehlawat.

Kushwaha stated that Lone was the handler of a recently busted LeT module linked to the metro poster case, in which eight individuals were earlier arrested, including seven Bangladeshi nationals and one Indian national. Key operatives identified in the module include Umar Farooq and Rabiyul Islam.

'Subsequently, six more Bangladeshi nationals linked to the module were arrested in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu. Shabir Ahmed Lone was handling this entire network,' he said.

Police recovered multiple foreign currencies from Lone's possession, including approximately 2,300 Bangladeshi Taka, 1,400 Nepalese currency units, 5,000 Pakistani currency units, and Rs 3,000 in Indian currency. A Nepalese SIM card was also seized.

Officials revealed that Lone has a long history of terror-related activities. He was first arrested by the Special Cell in 2007, when an AK-47 rifle and a hand grenade were recovered from him, and was later convicted. He was again arrested in 2015 in Srinagar's Parimpora area with AK-47 weapons.

After his release, Lone allegedly fled to Bangladesh, where he established a new operational module and came in contact with LeT-linked handlers operating on behalf of Pakistan's ISI, identified by the code names Abu Huzaifa and Sumama Babar.

'From Bangladesh, he set up a base in Kolkata and initiated operations. The module carried out poster campaigns across Kolkata and Delhi as a test run to assess operational capabilities,' Kushwaha said.

He further added that the group conducted reconnaissance at sensitive locations across the country, including temples and other crowded public areas, and shared video footage with handlers in Pakistan.

The officer also highlighted the role of the metro police in initially taking cognisance of the poster activity, which eventually led to the identification of key accused Umar Farooq and the subsequent transfer of the case to the Special Cell.

Describing Lone as a 'hardcore terrorist,' Kushwaha said he had returned to India to identify recruits and potential targets to revive terror operations using the Bangladesh route with Kolkata as a launching base.

Earlier on February 23, Delhi Police arrested eight suspects in connection with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), with the investigation revealing that the module was working with Shabir Ahmed Lone, who previously served a decade in jail for terrorism, released on bail in 2019, subsequently fleeing to Bangladesh, sources said.

Shabir Ahmed Lone was in direct touch with proscribed terror organisation top commanders Hafeez Saeed and Zaki-ur- Rahman Lakhvi, who are the masterminds of 26/11.

The Delhi Police is currently in the process of questioning the eight men arrested about whether they were planning to carry out an attack on the temple or in an area with heavy footfall.

Sources reported Lone has been given the task of recruiting and radicalising Bangladeshis who are illegally staying in India. He had managed to wean the eight arrested to the LeT ideology by brainwashing them.

Lone was on look out of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and, through touts, provided them with fake identity proofs like Aadhar cards. The accused were provided with weapons to carry out an attack, sources said. (ANI)