One of NIA's most wanted terrorists Shahnawaz along with two operatives arrested, have ISI links: Police

The Delhi Police special cell has arrested Shahnawaz, ‘most wanted’ by the National Investigative Agency. The arrested person is alleged to have links with an ISIS module, officials said on Monday.

Shanawaz had escaped from the custody of police in Pune and was living in Delhi, they said. He carried a reward of `3 lakh. An engineer by profession, Shahnawaz underwent joint interrogation of NIA and Delhi Police. NIA is likely to seek his custody for alleged links to an online ISIS module that planned to target north Indian cities. The police claimed it seized bomb-making material, indicating Shahnawaz was helping the module assemble a bomb.

MAOIST ARRESTED
In another incident, NIA on Monday arrested Chandra Narasimhulu, a state executive committee member of the Pragathiseela Karmika Samakya (PKS) in Andhra Pradesh’s Satya Sai district. It also seized a pistol and 14 rounds, `13 lakh and incriminating material in searches in the Munchingputu Maoist conspiracy case conducted on Monday in 62 locations across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.


NIA expects his custodial interrogation to yield information on act vities of various frontal Maoist organisations. According to NIA, apart from PKS, the proscribed Maoists’ frontal organisations included Civil Liberties Committee, Amarula Bandhu Mitrula Sangham, Chaitanya Mahila Sangham, Kula Nirmulana Porata Samathi, Patriotic Democratic Movement, Praja Kala Mandali, Revolutionary Writers Association, Human Rights Forum, Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners and Indian Association of Peoples Lawyers. NIA claims that its probe revealed that leaders and members of these organisations extended support to the CPI (Maoist), which was declared a terrorist outfit in 2009.

The premises raided on Monday belonged to members and cadres of the frontal organisations. The initial case was registered by the police in Munchingputu of ASR district on November 23, 2020, based on information relating to the movement of Maoists and transportation of Maoist literature in the area.