A major terrorist attack planned for Diwali was successfully averted by the Delhi Police as it arrested two alleged ISIS operatives preparing to execute blasts in crowded areas of the national capital city, including a famous mall in South Delhi and a public park.
Officials confirmed the news of the operation on Friday, informing about the arrest of two men, both named Adnan from Delhi and Bhopal.
Pramod Kushwaha, Additional Commissioner of Police (Special Cell), addressed a press conference, saying, "The arrests have averted a possible terror attack in Delhi. The suspects had conducted a recce of several crowded places, including a mall in South Delhi and a park, where they planned to execute the strike."
This was to cause maximum casualties during Diwali celebrations, when some locations remained very crowded. Officials also recovered a video featuring the two accused pledging allegiance to ISIS, with photographs of some prime targeted sites of Delhi. They also seized a makeshift timer device (like a watch that is used as a timer for an explosive) and some images of the places from where they could procure components for assembling an improvised explosive device (IED).
The first suspect was apprehended from Sadiq Nagar in Delhi on October 16, followed by the other suspect's arrest from Bhopal, following the former's lead. The Bhopal-based suspect was already under scrutiny after he allegedly threatened an ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) official on social media over his survey of the Gyanvapi mosque.
The two arrests are said to be part of a broader operation that led to the busting of an "ISIS-inspired module" currently functioning across various cities. According to the news agency ANI, both of them were also receiving training for "fidayeen", i.e., suicide-style attacks. Their electronic devices and other incriminating material reveal that both were in contact with foreign handlers and had reached the final stage of an IED-based attack.
PTI reported that the operation was based on specific intelligence inputs, conducted jointly by Additional Commissioner Pramod Kushwaha and ACP Lalit Mohan Negi.
A probe is underway to find out whether the suspects were linked with Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI), which has supported such networks in the past. They are also verifying whether the two had tried recruiting others in Delhi or Bhopal. It is believed that the two accused would have been radicalized online and would have received logistical support from abroad. They are being interrogated so that other members of the network can also be traced out. Search is on at several locations linked to them.
As of now, the arrests have averted what could have been a potentially devastating terror attack.