On the run for over a year, man with alleged ISIS links nabbed

Ali was arrested following a brief exchange of fire near Ganga Baksh Marg, close to Biodiversity Park in Tughlakabad, around 11pm on Thursday, said police.

The accused has been absconding for over a year before being apprehended, according to a press release by Special Commissioner of Police (CP) R P Upadhyay.

During the operation, the police claimed to have recovered a pistol of .30 bore, three live cartridges, and two mobile phones from Ali’s possession. Used ammunition was also seized from the spot, they added.

Police claimed Ali’s involvement with ISIS began years ago when he became radicalised through social media. In 2017, he befriended one Shahnawaz Alam, who had come to Delhi from Jharkhand for studies.

The two men initially wanted to collect funds for their Hijrat (pilgrimage). However, in 2018, Ali allegedly connected with an ISIS handler after applying for recruitment on social media. In 2022, Ali and Shahnawaz came in touch with two men, Imran Khan and Yunus Saki, and the four began collecting material to make IEDs, said police. In 2023, while investigating an ISIS network, law enforcement agencies claimed to have uncovered a module with operations spanning across Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, and Maharashtra. This investigation led to the arrest of Khan and Saki in Pune by the Pune Police. Alam, who managed to escape, was later arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell on October 2 last year in Jaitpur. Rizwan remained out of the reach of law as he continued changing his location and took all precautions in his communications with ISIS handlers, said the statement by the Special CP.

Police said that Ali has a history of criminal activities with multiple FIRs lodged against him.

On July 22, 2023, he was booked under various sections including 379 (theft), 468 (forgery), 511, and 34 (common intent) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), alongside sections of the Arms Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). This case, registered in Kalachowki in Mumbai, is currently being investigated by the NIA.

A few weeks later, on September 18, 2023, Ali was booked under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) IPC, sections 18 and 20 of UAPA, and the Explosives Act. This case is also under investigation by the NIA. Police said that further investigation is underway.