New Delhi: A top operative of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, who was allegedly involved in indoctrination and recruitment of young men and planning and execution of terror strikes across the country, has been arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police.
Abdul Subhan (42) was arrested last week from the Sarai Kale Khan bus stand last week, sources said. During his interrogation, Abdul spoke about "brain washing" of youths from Rajasthan, Haryana and Bihar, they added.
His name had surfaced during the questioning of two suspects, Mohammad Shahid and Qari Rashid, both residents of Mewat district in Haryana.
They had named Subhan as prime motivator who conducted recruitment on behalf of Lashkar-e-Taiba, sources said, adding a massive manhunt had been launched for his arrest.
Sources also said that dots were joined and it was found that in 2013 a known Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist of Pakistan had been in communication with certain Rajasthan and Haryana phone numbers and a conspiracy to commit a terrorist strike in the national capital was being discussed.
The caller of this number had been frequenting Delhi, after which a massive manhunt was launched which led to the arrest of Subhan who hails from village Gumat Bihari in Mewat district.
His arrest and subsequent investigations into the case helped Delhi Police and central security agencies unravel the designs of terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba to carry out strikes in Delhi, its adjoining areas and other parts of the country.
Subhan was not a new name in the terror history of the country. He was earlier arrested for carrying an arms consignment of RDX, AK 56 rifles, pistols, detonators, timers and ammunitions in a truck to Patan district in Gujarat. He was subsequently arrested by CBI officials.
He was subsequently sentenced by a court to 10 years in jail. However, Subhan's good behaviour led to his release in 2010 from Sabarmati jail after completing eight years in prison.
Following his release, Subhan allegedly became deadlier and his stay in jail had also enriched his experience in the terror world.
He allegedly managed to motivate and recruit like-minded persons from his region into the cause of terror at the behest of his Pakistan-based mentors of LeT.
Subhan visited mosques and religious congregations in his region and at the right time, he would introduce his identity as a hard core LeT terrorist and, with his charisma, successfully induct the susceptible into the terror outfit, the sources alleged.
During his earlier days, Subhan was closely associated Abdal alias Aftab Ahmed, a history-sheeter of Varanasi (who is at present in a Kolkata jail as he was deported from Dubai for his involvement in the shootout outside American Centre in Kolkata) and Asif Raza Khan alias Zaheer who was killed in an encounter with police.
