Terror module busted in Delhi, UP shows Dawood is still prime asset for ISI

New Delhi, Sep 15: The busting of two ISI sponsored modules, one by the Delhi Police and another by the UP ATS is clearly a sign of the Pakistan spy agencies trying to up the ante ahead of the elections to be held next year.

While the Delhi Police arrested 6 persons who were planning attacks during the festival season, the UP police picked up 3 persons following raids at Lucknow, Rae Bareli and Pratapgarh.

The Delhi Police said that the six persons were planning major attacks in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra during the festival season. The police also said that the accused persons had visited Pakistan. In Pakistan they were taken to a town near the Gwadar port and were trained by two persons from the Pakistan Army.

The training imparted to them involved preparing IEDs, using firearms, AK-47s and committing arson with the help of items of daily use.

The module was busted after the police received intelligence that a Pakistan sponsored module was planning on executing a series of attacks in the country. The police following the raids arrested, Jaan Mohammad Shaikh (47 years old) of Mumbai, Osama (22) of Delhi, Moolchand (47) of Raebareli, Zeeshan Qamar (28) of Prayagraj, Mohammad Abu Bakar (23) of Bahraich, and Mohammad Amir Javed (31) of Lucknow.

Osama and Qamar travelled to Muscat and from there they were taken to Pakistan on a boat. They stayed in Pakistan at a farmhouse in Thatta for 15 days and during this period they received training, senior special cell officer, Neeraj Thakur said.

During the probe the role of Dawood Ibrahim's brother too was revealed. The police learnt that Dawood's brother Anees Ibrahim was coordinating the execution of the attacks. He was also handling the recruitments, finance, logistics and transport through underworld channels largely based in Mumbai.

The ISI has often used Dawood's underworld network to carry out attacks in India. The channel is also crucial for the ISI to ferry across drugs into India and Sri-Lanka, the proceeds of which are used to fund terror activities.

The role of the Dawood network was suspected in the Mumbai train bombings as well as the 26/11 attacks. Considering the underworld knows the city of Mumbai very well, the D-Company has been instrumental in providing logistic support. The first time the name of Dawood cropped up in an act of terror was during the Mumbai 1993 blasts case.

In the current case, the police learnt that an underworld operative Sameer was hired by a Pakistan based person. He coordinated with his contacts to ensure the delivery of arms and ammunition.

An Intelligence Bureau official tells OneIndia that Dawood continues to be an asset for the ISI. It is a well known fact that he lives under the protection of the Pakistan spy agency. While Pakistan continues to deny his presence on its soil, his whereabouts and the operations he launches from the country has come to light on several occasions.

A recent probe by the NIA into the seizure of 300 kilograms of drugs off the coast of Vizhinjam revealed the role of Pakistan. It was found that the operatives were in touch with a Pakistan based drug runner Haji Salim. This is very much part of the Dawood cartel which operates in Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka, an officer explained. The ISI has upped narcotic trade in a bid to use it to orchestrate terror attacks in India, the official also said.