Foiled IS terror bid: 2 suspects sent to Delhi Police custody till Oct 27

New Delhi, Oct 24 (IANS) Two suspected IS operatives arrested before they could plant a bomb in Delhi were on Friday sent to three days’ police custody till October 27 by a city court, an official said.

Md. Adnan Khan alias Abu Muharib, 19, a resident of Sadiq Nagar in south Delhi, and Adnan Khan alias Abu Mohammad, 20, a resident of Karond, Bhopal, MP, were arrested on October 16 and 18, respectively.

On Friday, the Delhi court sent the two to police custody to pave the way for their interrogation on the data recovered from their mobile phones and pen drives seized from them.

The Delhi Police, through the public prosecutor, had sought an extension in the two accused’s custody by four days, but the court at Patiala House complex allowed only a three-day extension in their custody.

While seeking their custody, the police said the gadgets seized from the two had been sent for lab analysis, and they wanted to interrogate the two over their social media accounts.

The police also informed the court that they were yet to question some other suspects involved in the foiled attempt to strike terror in the national Capital.

Both suspects allegedly communicated with a Syria-based IS handler identified as Abu Ibrahim al-Qureshi, according to the police.

The defence lawyer told the court that they had not yet been given a copy of the first information report (FIR).

Pramod Singh Kushwah, Additional Commissioner of Police, Special Cell, said the inter-state module of IS was disseminating jihadi videos on social media and had progressed to an advanced stage of planning attacks at crowded locations in Delhi during the festive season.

They had started procuring materials for improvised explosive devices (IEDs), he said.

After their arrest, the Delhi Police have recovered a pen drive containing the video of Md. Adnan, Delhi, taking the Bayʿah while dressed in IS attire (black clothing and scarf); an IS flag, mobile phones containing radical videos and related material, hard disks and a laptop.

Earlier, surveillance showed that Md. Adnan (Delhi) and Adnan Khan (Bhopal) were active on multiple social platforms, using them to spread extremist content, recruit followers and coordinate activities, the police said.

During a search of Md. Adnan’s Delhi residence, investigators recovered three mobile phones containing incriminating IS material, images and manuals detailing “remote detonation systems,” instructions on making “plastic bombs” and “Molotov cocktails,” a pen drive, hard disks, an IS flag, the clothing used during the Bay’ah, and a timer clock intended for use in an IED.

The suspect from Bhopal had previously been arrested by Uttar Pradesh ATS under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and after obtaining bail in 2024, he resumed terrorist-related activity, chiefly through online recruitment and propaganda dissemination. In June 2024, he was arrested by UP ATS for threatening an Additional Session Judge in connection with the videographic survey of Gyanvapi.

The police said Md Adnan from Delhi admitted to taking the “Bay’ah” (pledge of allegiance) to the current IS Caliph, Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, through a Syria-based handler.

“The Bay’ah was recorded on video while the suspect was dressed in IS attire,” said a police statement.

The investigators said the Bhopal-based suspect regularly sent radical jihadi videos and instructed Md. Adnan is in Delhi to edit and disseminate them.

--IANS

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