Delhi Police on Monday arrested one of NIA's most wanted terrorists Mohammad Shahnawaz, accused of having links with an ISIS module, along with his two associates and seized incriminating material including those suspected to be used in IED fabrication, officials said. Shahnawaz was nabbed in Jaitpur in Delhi, while Mohammad Rizwan Ashraf and Mohammad Arshad Warsi were arrested in Lucknow and Moradabad, in Uttar Pradesh, respectively, they said, adding the three have been remanded in police custody for a week.
All three have done engineering. Citing preliminary questioning, the police said the accused recced various areas in western and southern India.
They wanted to make their base in Western Ghats, the police said.
Shanawaz had escaped from the custody of Pune Police and was living in Delhi, they said. He carried a reward of Rs 3 lakh.
Elementary plastic tubes, iron pipes, different types of chemicals, timing devices, etc, which could have been used in making explosive devices, were seized from Shahnawaz, along with a pistol and cartridges, the police alleged.
Literature on making bombs suspected to have been sent by their across-the-border handlers was recovered, police said.