NEW DELHI: Delhi Police’s special cell has arrested at least two suspects and detained a few others as part of a pan-India sweep on a terror module. The duo, held in Mumbai, were part of a highly radicalised “Islamic State (IS)-inspired” module, allegedly planning to carry out attacks using remote-controlled toy car bombs, police said.Sources said that “incriminating material”, including sensitive literature and chats, was found during the searches and the suspects were allegedly in the process of manufacturing improvised explosive devices.The raids took place in Kurla and nearby Khadavli, leading to the arrest of Mossab Ahmad, known as Kalam, and Mohammad Hamad. The operation was conducted with Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad (ATS).Preliminary reports suggest that the suspects had joined radical online groups called “Mission Khilafat” and “Soldiers of Jihad”. The investigation has uncovered links between the suspects and Abu Hufeiza, a figure associated with the terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), who masquerades as an Islamic State recruiter on Telegram and other online platforms.
A senior police officer said: “We received information that some youths in the Kurla, Shivaji Nagar and Govandi areas were in contact with banned terror outfits. Following legal procedures, the teams conducted searches at the residences of three people on Saturday and Sunday. They were interrogated, and their mobile phones and electronic devices have been seized,” a senior officer said.The crackdown has also placed several others under the scanner, as security agencies have identified four to five minors in Mumbai who appear to have been influenced by Islamic State’s propaganda.As the interrogation of the two men continues, central and state agencies are working to dismantle the network and trace other leads connected to this module. Efforts are now focused on identifying the handlers and preventing any potential sleeper cell activity across the country, police said.The operation comes on the heels of a similar operation, reported by TOI on Sunday wherein a suspect named Rizwan was arrested by the special cell from Kushinagar in UP. The operation was conducted jointly with the UP ATS. Rizwan had been associated with an IS-linked module since 2015, the same year that he was arrested. He was allegedly involved in recruiting people in India for the banned outfit. According to police, a large amount of incriminating, anti-national content was seized from him. He was lodged in Arthur Road Jail before being transferred to Tihar Jail in Delhi. Sources said Rizwan was also part of the same module and had been cultivated during his judicial custody.The latest operation comes also in the backdrop of cops busting a Bangladesh-based LeT module headed by Shabbir Ahmed Lone.Following Operation Sindoor in May 2025, which dismantled cross-border terror infrastructure, law enforcement agencies have gone on a state of high alert to counter retaliatory “asymmetric” threats.This vigilance has transitioned into a full-scale security overhaul after last year’s Red Fort car bomb blast, where a high-intensity IED triggered by suicide bomber Umar-Un-Nabi killed 13 people in the capital.
