Amit Shah Orders Security Agencies to Hunt Down Delhi Blast Culprits

New Delhi:Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday instructed security agencies to hunt down “each and every culprit” behind the Delhi blast and said everyone involved will face the full wrath of security agencies.

The government directed security agencies to unravel and eliminate the sleeper cells of various terror modules of terror outfits the Islamic State (IS) and its affiliates Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind and Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) besides Pakistan backed Islamist groups like Jaish-e-Mohammad.

The agencies have also been asked to scan and limit the footprint of other terror ‘tanzeems’ like Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).

The move came after a crucial meeting chaired by the Union home minister Amit Shah.

The sophisticated "white-collar" terror module managed to acquire and store a huge quantity of explosives, including ammonium nitrate, used in Monday's deadly blast in national capital that claimed 12 lives is a clear pointer to the massive intelligence failure, repeating just after over six months following the Pahalgam terror attack.

The security agencies widened their probe across Uttar Pradesh and conducted searches in multiple districts including Lucknow, Saharanpur and Lakhimpur Kheri.

In Lucknow, a joint team of the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), local police and central agencies carried out an extensive probe at the Muttaqipur residence of Dr Shaheen Shahid, who was arrested in connection with the Delhi blast case. Officials collected documents and questioned family members and neighbours to gather details about her background, sources said.

Police sources said Shahid is suspected to have links with Dr Muzammil, from whose possession a large quantity of explosives was earlier seized in Faridabad. Dr Muzammil was wanted by the Jammu and Kashmir Police in a separate case related to a social media post allegedly supporting the banned organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed.

In Lakhimpur Kheri, the family of Mohammad Suhail was detained by the Gujarat ATS on Sunday from Banaskantha district along with two others in connection with suspected terror activities.

In Saharanpur, investigators traced the activities of another suspect, Dr. Adil Ahmad, who was arrested on November 7 by the Jammu and Kashmir Police with the assistance of the local police and Special Operations Group (SOG).

The J&K Police had registered a case in Srinagar on October 28 after posters supporting Jaish-e-Mohammed surfaced in several areas. CCTV footage reportedly showed Adil putting up the posters, following which surveillance traced his location to Saharanpur and was arrested from “Famous Hospital” and handed over to the Srinagar Police on transit remand.

Dr Umar Mohammad, a doctor who exploded his explosive-laden car at the busy Red Fort area, had been under surveillance of the agencies following the appearance of posters supporting the JeM in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir.

On the day the blast occurred in Delhi, the agencies had earlier conducted searches in neighbouring Faridabad leading to the recovery of huge haul of cash, ammonium nitrate and assault rifles.

As the investigators follow the leads, the agencies are also probing the possibilities of Pakistani handlers who were suspected to be connected to the terror module via a Telegram channel. The leads gathered so far are a pointer to the network being spread across multiple states, from Jammu and Kashmir to Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.

Several counter-terrorism operations in recent days have led to the arrest of suspected terrorists in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, and Haryana.

Post the Red Fort blast, linkages between the blast and the Faridabad terror module are also being studied.