Mumbai: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has uncovered a plot by ISIS terrorists in touch with foreign handlers to carry out terror activities in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). 

Shahnawaz Alam and Mohammad Rizwan Ashraf, affiliated with ISIS and collaborating with ISI and terrorist Farhatullah Ghori, were tasked with carrying out attacks following orders from an overseas ISIS handler. The investigation revealed linkages between Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Farhatullah Ghori, ISI, and ISIS, with financial and logistical support provided for their activities in the Delhi/NCR area. Shahnawaz and Rizwan were apprehended by Delhi's special cell before the planned operation could take place.

According to the NIA's investigation the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the Maharashtra police, the Pune police, and the NIA had dismantled the ISIS Maharashtra module in July 2023. Shahnawaz escaped but the mastermind, Imran Khan, and others were captured. 

The Agency believes the contact person in Delhi may be the same person who met Saquib Nachan in Padgha, near Thane, after traveling from Delhi. This person may possibly have arranged financial and logistical support for Shahnawaz's terror plot. According to investigators, the individual from Delhi went to Mumbai at the ISIS handler's request to talk about preparations for an ISIS terror operation that Saquib was allegedly going to carry out.

Critical information on the ISIS pan-India operation was uncovered by intelligence Agencies during Shahnawaz's courtroom statement. His confession reveals his affiliation with Nachan and their associates, as well as other ISIS terror module linkages. In order to gather information, NIA has placed Nachan and the other accused under detention. Their primary goal is to figure out how they planned to carry out terrorist attacks in Mumbai, Delhi/NCR, and other locations.

Who is Farhatullah Ghori 

Farhatullah Ghori, also known as Abu Sufiyan, Sardar Sahab, and Faru, is a key member of Lashkar-E-Taiba and Jaish-E-Mohammad, leading Hizb-Ut-Tahrir (HUT), a global Islamic fundamentalist terrorist organization. Ghori has been involved in high-profile attacks, including the 2002 Akshardham Temple attack and the 2005 suicide attack on the Task Force office in Hyderabad. He is wanted by Indian law enforcement officials and has been designated a terrorist by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).