2 arrested for inter-state terror plot to hit Delhi

Incidentally,Ehtesham was arrested in 2007 in Sopore — for his alleged links with the local Lashkar unit — and then released.

Subsequently,his family sent him to Jharkhand — Ehtesham’s mother is from Hazaribagh. His father Farooq Ahmad Malik has built a house near his in-laws’ residence in Hazaribagh,police said.

Ehtesham re-surfaced on the security radar during an investigation into Aakash Badar,the Lashkar commander in the Valley who replaced Abdullah Unny — Unny was killed last year. Said Sopore Superintendent of Police Imtiyaz Hussain Mir: “On January 10,we called Tauseef Ahmad Pir (then in Sopore) and one Muzamil Amin Dar for

questioning. They are both from Badambagh in Sopore. We had information that both of them have links with Aakash Badar.” Police also questioned Tauseef’s cousin Zubair Malik.

While Badar was killed in an encounter,the band of cousins,Ehtisham,Touseef and Zubair were put under constant “physical as well as technical surveillance,’’ Sopore Superintendent of Police Imtiyaz Hussain Mir told The Indian Express.

So on January 27,when Tauseef travelled to Hazaribagh — where he was enrolled in a “technical” course — J&K police alerted Central agencies. At that time,Ehtesham Malik had been living in Ranchi for past three years. Agencies were alerted when Ehtesham suddenly left Ranchi for Delhi. “He told his family back in Ranchi that he is going to Patna. After he arrived in Delhi,he went off the radar. We investigated all his contacts in Delhi and tracked him in Tughlaqabad Extension where he was staying at the rented accommodation of Shafkat,another person from Sopore. Ehtesham was setting up some IED circuits to set off bomb blasts in Delhi,’’ police said.

Delhi Police said they recovered explosives,memory cards,five mobile phones and passports. One memory card has a video from a training camp where they are seen assembling IEDs and using AK-47s.

“We were able to bust the module with the help of J&K Police and Jharkhand Police. An attack was imminent,” said P N Aggarwal,special commissioner of police (Special Cell). Both were produced in a city court and have been remanded to 10 days police custody.

“Delhi Police sought our help as the relatives of one of the alleged terrorists live in Hazaribagh. The accused had come to meet them few months back,” said G S Rath,Director General of Jharkhand Police. (with ENS,Delhi)