He was in touch with Abdul Rehman, AQIS operative who was recently arrested by the police.
The suspect has been identified as Abdul Sami, a resident of Jamshedpur. According to police, in January 2014 he went to Pakistan via Dubai and stayed in Karachi for some time. He underwent weapon training in Mansera and was in constant touch with Rehman. In January 2015, he came back from Dubai.
According to sources, he was hiding in Mewat for the past few months and was frequently visiting Delhi ever since. “The national Capital and other Metro cities including Mumbai and Bangalore are the targets of AQIS. The outfit, which has recruited more than 50 Indian Muslims using social networking sites and other methods including the ‘cultivation’ process has given them proper training in LeT camps in Pakistan,” the source added.
Abdul Sami, was arrested by Delhi Police’s Special Cell from Nuh town in Mewat. He was brought to Delhi and produced before a court which remanded him to police custody till February 1, Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Arvind Deep said.
Sources further added that during interrogation it was learnt that he was assigned to do recce of certain areas in the national Capital including Delhi Metro. Some maps and a note pad with hand written notes have been found from Sami’s possession. The notes contain the phone numbers of some people who are now under police radar, the source said. It is worth mentioning that the Intelligence Bureau officials had always warned that if the AQIS makes a mark it would do so through West Bengal. With some modules of the AQIS now being discovered in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra, counter intelligence operations would be stepped up.
A few more persons are presently under the police scanner and more arrests are likely, the official added. AQIS was floated by al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahari in September 2014 following a meeting somewhere in Afghanistan-Pakistan region which reportedly had in its quorum the entire Grand Council (Arabian Shura) of al-Qaeda, including al-Zawahiri’s son in law.