Dawood-ISI Nexus Exposed; 9 Arrested For Allegedly Plotting Attacks On Critical Installations, Religious Places

New Delhi: The Special Cell of Delhi Police on Saturday busted a major terror module linked to the Dawood Ibrahim network and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), arresting nine individuals who were allegedly plotting attacks on critical installations, security personnel, and religious places in the national capital, sources said on Saturday.

The police have also recovered a significant cache of arms, hand grenades, and explosive materials from the possession of the arrested accused.

According to sources, the module had been meticulously developed over a long period by Pakistan's intelligence establishment with the specific objective of executing terror attacks in the national capital. The arrested individuals allegedly include individuals of Nepali origin who were also a part of the network.Preliminary investigations have revealed suspected operational links between the arrested accused and Pakistan-backed handlers, alongside operatives associated with the Mumbai underworld network.Sources also said the accused were tasked with targeting high-value critical installations, security personnel, and prominent religious places in Delhi.The recoveries made during the operation include firearms, sophisticated explosive materials, and multiple hand grenades, effectively neutralising an immediate threat to the capital's security.

The Delhi Police Special Cell has initiated a comprehensive probe into the module's funding channels, recruitment patterns, and logistical support networks. Investigators are also extensively examining the roles of handlers and local facilitators involved in the alleged terror conspiracy.Meanwhile, exactly a month ago, Indian law enforcement agencies achieved a major breakthrough against the D-Company network when Mohammad Salim Dola, a high-ranking associate of fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, was brought to India from Turkey.

Dola, who had been absconding since 2020, was apprehended from a residence in Istanbul's Beylikduzu district following a targeted operation by the Narcotics Crimes Division of the Istanbul Police Department and was processed for deportation.He arrived at the Delhi Technical Airport and was produced before a Delhi court, which granted a two-day transit remand to the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to transport him to Mumbai in connection with a 2023 NCB Mumbai case involving an Interpol Red Notice under the NDPS Act.The high-profile crackdown aligns with investigations in India, where associates captured in Mumbai's Kurla region reportedly confessed to receiving instructions from Dola, leading to the seizure of over 126 kilograms of mephedrone and Rs 25,22,000.

Considered a pivotal figure managing Dawood's international drug empire, officials believe his custody will provide critical insights into how the D-Company moves contraband across borders via West Asia and Europe, the "hawala" channels used to funnel drug money back into organised crime, and the active sleeper cells and distributors operating within Mumbai and neighbouring states.