Special Cell of the Delhi Police arrests key wanted terrorist of Pune ISIS module

New Delhi, August 9

The Special Cell of the Delhi Police arrested Rizwan Abdul Haji Ali, a key member of the Pune Islamic State (ISIS) module.

Ali was carrying a reward of Rs 3 lakhs on his head and was considered the most notorious figure in the group.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had issued a warrant for Ali’s arrest. He had been evading capture since escaping custody of Pune police.

Ali, a resident of Daryaganj in Delhi, also allegedly conducted reconnaissance of several high-profile targets in Delhi and Mumbai, along with other members of the Pune ISIS module.

The NIA had declared all the members of the proscribed terrorist organisation, ISIS, and were involved in plans to unleash terror in and around Pune as part of a larger conspiracy to promote the terror activities of the outfit.

A total of 11 accused have been charged by the NIA in the July 2023 case relating to the seizure of arms, explosives, chemicals, and ISIS-related literature in Maharashtra’s Pune.

Rizwan Ali was named in the supplementary chargesheet filed by NIA in March this year, along with three other accused.

The NIA's probe had shown that the accused were in touch with their foreign-based handler through secret communication apps. They were raising funds by carrying out armed robberies and thefts and were receiving money from their handlers for carrying out their terror activities. These men had undergone IED fabrication training at Kondhwa in Pune and even conducted a controlled blast.

The accused also had training in shooting while preparing themselves for terrorist strikes, as per NIA findings. 

They had scouted areas in the Western Ghats for potential hideouts and checked places in cities across Maharashtra and Gujarat to carry out terror attacks, NIA mentioned. 

The police recovered weapons from Ali's possession at the time of his arrest.