Special Cell arrests wanted ISIS operative

NEW DELHI: The Special Cell of the Delhi Police has arrested a wanted member of the banned terrorist organisation ISIS, after an extensive year-long manhunt, the officials informed on Friday.

Rizwan Ali (29), who had been on the run for over a year, was arrested late Thursday near Biodiversity Park at Ganga Baksh Marg in Delhi.

The arrest was led by a dedicated team of the Special Cell’s Northern District Range (NDR), under the leadership of Inspectors Vinay Pal and Manoj Kumar, and supervised closely by ACP Lalit Mohan Negi. Rizwan Ali, a resident of Daryaganj, Delhi, had a reward of Rs 3 lakh on his head, announced by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for his involvement in multiple terror-related activities.

The Special Cell official said that the operation to apprehend Ali began in 2023, when intelligence agencies, while tracking the ISIS network, uncovered a module with links across Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, and Maharashtra. In July 2023, Pune Police arrested two ISIS operatives, Imran Khan and Yunus Saki, in Maharashtra. However, their associate, Shahnawaz Alam, managed to evade capture. The case was subsequently transferred to the NIA, which then declared a Rs 3 lakh reward for information leading to the arrest of Shahnawaz Alam, Rizwan Ali, and other associates.

On October 2, 2023, Shahnawaz Alam was captured by Delhi’s Special Cell, but Rizwan Ali remained elusive, evading arrest by frequently changing locations and maintaining strict communication with ISIS handlers. On Thursday, actionable intelligence led to a successful trap laid by the Special Cell, resulting in Ali’s arrest after a brief shootout. They recovered a .30 bore pistol, live cartridges, and used ammunition.

A case under the UAPA and Arms Act has been filed. Ali was radicalised through social media around 2015-16 and later linked with ISIS.