AL QAEDA Indian subcontinent (AQIS) MODULE BUSTED BY DELHI POLICE,CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES AND UP ANTI TERRORIST SQUAD
In a joint operation of Delhi Police, Central Intelligence Agencies and UP Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS), a team of Special Cell, Delhi Police led by Inspectors Sanjay Dutt, Umesh Barthwal, Kailash Bisht and Rahul Kumar Singh has apprehended one Mohd. Asif, aged 41 yrs, s/o Ata-Ur-Rehman, r/o House Number 268, Mohalla Deepa Sarai, District Sambhal, UP, who is one of the founder members of Al Qaida in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), floated by Ayman Al Zawahiri in September 2014 to pursue the objectives of AQ in the Indian subcontinent. This is the first detection of any active module of this terrorist Tanzeem in India and the first arrest of a radical extremist, who was physically present at Miran Shah along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border when the seeds of this Tanzeem were sowed. In this regard a case vide FIR No. 67/15 dated 14/12/2015 under various sections of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act PS Special Cell has been registered and the accused has been remanded to 14 days police custody for further investigation.
Operation: Ever since the video declaring the constitution of AQIS was posted by Al Qaida over its media arm Al-Shahab in September 2014, Indian security and intelligence agencies had initiated a sustained counter-intelligence operation to decipher the real structure, composition and objectives of this new Tanzeem. Since the anointment of one Maulana Asim Umar, an unidentified terrorist of Indian descent, as the Amir of AQIS was declared by none else than Ayman Al Zawahiri, the dreaded chief of Al Qaida, it was imperative that Indian characters of this Tanzeem be quickly identified for initiating appropriate counter terrorist measures. The capabilities of Al Qaeda in orchestrating catastrophic terrorist strikes like the 9/11 attacks of United States Attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris in 2015, had sent the entire security establishment of the country in a purposive, concerted hunt to nip any such attempt by the members of AQIS in the bud.
Long and intense periods of deploying human sources in the vulnerable pockets of Islamic radicalization led to the zeroing in on certain suspects based out of Western UP and who had reported intriguing movements out of India towards West Asian countries in the recent past. Attempts were made to carry out a thorough check of their activities abroad but all efforts led to one or the other stonewalls. Selective penetration by human sources was carried out in the suspected areas and the persistent efforts led to credible information being received about accused Mohd. Asif, reported to be a senior AQIS functionary, that he was expected to visit a contact near Seelampur flyover, on 14th December 2015. A trap was laid and in a swift and professional operation, accused Mohd. Asif was apprehended by the above said team in late afternoon hours from the mentioned place. He was found to be in possession of 3 mobile phones, a laptop amongst other incriminating articles. Accused was interrogated on the spot and when confronted with the intelligence gathered over the long preceding period of operation, he revealed about his association with AQIS as being one of its founding members and being the Indian Head/Amir of its motivation, recruitment and training wing. Accused Mohd. Asif was thereafter arrested following due process of law and produced before the concerned court and his 14 days Police Custody remand has been obtained.
Profile: Accused Mohd. Asif was born in 1974 at his given address of Sambhal, UP. After studying up to 5th standard in a local school of Sambhal, he dropped out from school and took up various petty jobs in his locality. In 1991, he went along with his father to Ahmedabad, Gujarat and learnt the trade of a truck body welder. Thereafter in the year 1993, he returned to Sambhal and got involved in other petty jobs like that of an accountant (muneem) at local traders/businessmen. In 2009, he tried his hand at his own business by installing a flour mill but since this did not work, he resumed his accountancy work which he continued till 2012. All this while, he was getting influenced by the happenings around him. He got enamored with terrorist tanzeems like Harkat-Ul-Mujahidin (HuM), ultimately evolving into a pan Eurasian vision of Jehad being espoused by the dreaded international terrorist Tanzeem Al Qaeda.
Mohd. Asif’s urge to join such an international terrorist Tanzeem got a boost, when some of his old known persons from Deepa Sarai, Sambhal graduated from Harkat-Ul-Mujahidin to Tehrik-e-Taliban and finally ended up at the shores of Al Qaeda somewhere along the Pakistan-Afghanistan borders. One person, whose writings and publications has had a profound impact on Mohd. Asif was ‘Maulana Asim Umar’ and it took little time for the initiated accused to figure out that this Mualana Asim Umar, who later was anointed as the Amir of AQIS, was someone from his own locality and a distant relative. With support of a local empathizer cell of Mulana Asim Umar, he established contact over a social media site with one Qasim (code name), a deputy of Maulana Asim Umar and also an original resident of Sambhal, who had also migrated to accompany his master. This happened in 2012 and Asif’s life took the ultimate turn towards extremism and fundamentalist radicalization.
Qasim motivated accused Mohd. Asif to make a visit to Pakistan and extended invitation on behalf of Maulana Asim Umar. By this time, accused Mohd. Asif had motivated two more youths, one from his own locality and another through him, and asked Qasim to arrange for funds to facilitate the migration of these youths’ also who were fully prepared to join the frontlines of Islamic jehad in Afghanistan under the aegis of Al Qaeda.
Qasim told accused Mohd. Asif that money for travel was not a problem and the same would be made available to him by a financier of his own locality and that the travel to Pakistan would be through Iran. Therefore, accused Mohd. Asif along with the two youths radicalized by him procured travelers’ VISA for Iran on the pretext that they had to perform ‘ziyarat’ at the shrine of the late Grand Ayatollah Khomaini in Teheran.
On 23rd June 2013, the accused along with two young radicals left New Delhi via air for Teheran, Iran. After landing in Teheran, he called up Qasim to inform him of their arrival. In a few days, a contact of Qasim approached them at the hotel where they were staying and got them their tickets for traveling up to Zahedan, the capital city of Sistan and Baluchestan province of Iran. From Zahedan, they went to Sarwan where they were picked up by another contact of Qasim. From Sarawan, they reached the Iran-Pakistan border and crossed it over foot. The contact of Qasim ensured that there was no difficulty in crossing over the border. Once in Pakistan, the contact sent by Qasim got them board a car which took them to Quetta. From Quetta, they were taken on motor cycles to Ghazni in Afghanistan, crossing hostile mountainous terrain which is a hotbed of terrorist activity. From Ghazni, they went to Junubi Waziristan i.e. South Waziristan in Pakistan and from there, to Sumali i.e. North Waziristan. In Sumali Waziristan, accused Asif met his long emigrated Indian friend, who was using the code name of Assad. Assad has been identified as Usman s/o Khursheed, r/o Deepa Sarai, Sambhal, UP. Finding Usman was a moment of extreme joy for accused Mohd. Asif as he knew that he had landed amongst his kin. Usman further took the trio to Miran Shah where they met Qasim, identified as Sayed Akhtar, r/o Deepa Sarai, Sambhal, UP who was the local assistant to the elusive Maulana Asim Umar. Sayed and Usman briefed Asif and the young terrorists accompanying him about Al Qaeda, its structure, objectives and what was in store for these jehadis on their path to the ultimate glory. Accused Asif was especially chosen to meet Maulana Asim Umar as he had to shoulder greater responsibilities.
After a week of their meeting with Sayed, accused Mohd. Asif was taken to the hideout of Maulana Asim Umar. who was instantly recognized as Sanaul Haq @ Sannu, aged about 45 yrs, s/o Chuttu, r/o Deepa Sarai, Sambhal, UP. This was the first time that a visitor from India got to know the real face behind the subject of till now an unending mystery known as Asim Umar.
Maulana Asim Umar @ Sanaul Haq had called accused Asif for a sinister purpose. While the young terrorists accompanying Asif were grouped with some Pakistani Al Qaeda recruits and sent off for askari i.e. militant training in one of the several camps which are located in the area, Asif became privy to the impending foundation of AQIS as disclosed by Sanaul Haque to him in complete confidence. Sanaul Haque discussed his hijrat i.e. emigration from Sambhal in 1995 which had led him to Harkat-Ul-Mujahidin (HuM) and his long story of 20 years as a top fighter, who had risen from the ranks and was poised to be anointed as the Amir of AQIS by none else than Ayman Al Zawahiri.
In Waziristan, Asif underwent intense Deeni training as he was to act as the principal ideologue of AQIS in India upon his return. During that period, US forces were conducting successive drone strikes at several places in close vicinity of the safe-house, where Asif had been lodged and in one such strike quite close by, the then Chief of Tehrik-e-Taliban, Pakistan namely Hakimullah Mehsood was killed. This had enraged the entire jehadi community and Asif was also deeply influenced by his martyrdom. However, the pressure of drone strikes compelled that hideouts be changed frequently.
After the deeni training got over, one day, Sanaul Haque @ Maulana Asim Umar called accused Mohd. Asif for an important meeting. He was told that the son-in-law of Ayman Al Zawahiri was expected to visit the area soon along with an Arabian Shura (Grand Council) of AQ to formally announce the formation of AQIS and Asif was the only Indian person who would be privy to such a high profile meeting apart from Sanaul Haque himself. Soon, the meeting took place at an undisclosed location in the vicinity of Miran Shah and Sanaul Haque @ Maulana Asim Umar was anointed as the Amir of newly formed AQIS, which pledged to take the frontiers of Islamic jehad towards the entire South Asian continent including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan with India being the centerpiece of action.
Sometime after the meeting, Maulana Asim Umar had unexpected visitors from Karachi – Riyaz Bhatkal, the chief of Indian Mujahidin paid him a visit to pay his obeisance and to seek support of AQIS in the operations of IM in India. Apart from Riyaz Bhatkal, other senior IM commanders like Bada Sajid (recently reported killed in Syria) etc. also visited Maulana Asim Umar to met him and pay him their respect.
After his sojourn in Waziristan, accused Mohd. Asif was asked to return to India as the head of Indian wing of AQIS and tasked with motivating and recruiting further prospects for the Tanzeem. He bid a fond adieu to Sanaul Haque @ Maulana Asim Umar and leaving the two terrorists who had traveled with him with Usman and Sayed, he returned his journey back home.
When accused Mohd. Asif reached Iran following the same route and MO through which he had entered Pakistan, he was caught by Iranian security agency at the Mehriyaz border. However, the contacts of Al Qaeda ensured that he was transited to Turkey and after some days, accused Mohd. Asif found himself in the company of Uighur AQ operatives, who had a base in Istanbul. Since his travel VISA for Iran had long expired and he had over stayed it by almost thirteen months, as advised by his handlers, he approached the Indian Embassy at Istanbul and pleaded that he had lost his Indian passport and was sent back to India on an Emergency Certificate (EC). Accused Mohd. Asif landed in Delhi in September 2014 and since then, was deeply involved in the expansion of AQIS in India.
The arrest of Mohd. Asif is a major achievement of security agencies working tirelessly to safeguard the nation against dreaded international terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda. His arrest and continuing interrogations are likely to provide crucial leads to the infiltration and expanse of AQIS in India and the neighboring countries. Being the first recognized Indian module of AQIS, which has several Indians known to be operating from the Af-Pak region, the arrest is also likely to reveal other modules/sleeper cells of Al Qaeda affiliates in India.
Further investigation is under progress.
(Arvind Deep)
Special Commissioner/Special Cell
Delhi Police
Source: Delhi Police (PR CELL)
