Shabbir Ahmed Lone, a ‘most wanted’ Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander (File photo)

NEW DELHI: Shabbir Ahmed Lone, a ‘most wanted’ Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander, was arrested on Sunday nightfollowing a month-long operation by the Delhi Police special cell.Lone alias Raja Kashmiri had allegedly set up a Lashkar’s cell in Bangladesh on ISI’s directions and was running a cross-border terror network aimed at radicalising Indian and Bangladeshi youth to carry out terror attacks. Previously arrested in 2007 in Delhi and in 2016 in J&K, his arrest is being considered significant, as it effectively severs a revived terror pipeline that was being orchestrated from Bangladesh.“Lone was the mastermind behind a recently busted terror module in which eight operatives, including seven Bangladeshi nationals, were arrested. They were the first set of recruits who were sent to Delhi and asked to paste anti-national posters before the AI summit as a ‘test task’,” additional CP (special cell) Pramod Kushwaha told TOI.

According to police, the recruits established a base in Kolkata, completed the task in Delhi and flew back. However, their journey helped the cops identify and nab them last month. Rattled by the arrests, Lone was tasked by his Pakistan-based handlers to re-enter India, intensify the recruitment drive and meet assets to carry out an attack, said police. The arrested recruits had allegedly conducted a recce of Kalkaji temple and Gauri Shankar temple in Chandni Chowk.Acting on precise inputs on Lone’s movements, a special team comprising DCP Praveen Tripathi, inspector Sunil Rajain and others, in coordination with central intelligence agencies, intercepted him in Ghazipur and apprehended him. The high-ranking LeT handler had crossed over to Nepal and entered India through the open border.Police seized his mobile handset and a Nepali SIM card, besides a variety of foreign currencies, including 2,300 Bangladeshi taka, 5,000 Pakistani rupees and 1,400 Nepalese rupees, alongside Indian currency.Interrogation uncovered a sophisticated operational structure. Under the directions of Sumama Babar, Lone managed the distribution of anti-national posters in Delhi and Kolkata to test the capabilities of new recruits, said police. The posters carried pro-Pakistan slogans, inflammatory messages about Kashmir and images of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani, text in Urdu that read “We are Pakistanis, Pakistan is ours”, and a mention of “Kashmir Solidarity Day”, which is observed in Pakistan. The recruits recorded videos of their act and sent them to Lone, who praised them on chats and asked to move on to the next stage, said police.The module members, including Malda-based Umar Farukh and several Bangladeshi nationals staying illegally in India, then conducted reconnaissance of high-footfall commercial and religious sites. A local operational base was established in Kolkata’s Hatiara area to facilitate these activities, according to police.Lone is in five-day police remand and is being interrogated about ISI’s setup in Bangladesh. Police told the court that he was a convicted terrorist and his custodial interrogation was required to bust the rest of the network. Cops said they needed to trace the operation handlers and dealers of foreign currency.Police said they also identified Lone’s accomplice — Saidul Islam, a Bangladeshi national who facilitated his illegal entry into Bangladesh and arranged his logistics and hideouts. Islam was also the primary link who provided the details of the Tamil Nadu-based group to Lone and Umar Faruq, arrested earlier.Lone first indoctrinated Faruq and appointed him to spearhead LeT operations within India, said police. Lone allegedly aimed to use Bangladeshi nationals who could blend into the local population by assuming Indian identities, thereby evading the scrutiny typically applied to known Kashmiri or Pakistani operatives. They first recruited a few illegals working in the garment industry and asked them to bring others onboard in lieu of money and better life.