Police arrest five operatives, foil Pak-linked plot to establish extremist Caliphate.
New Delhi: Delhi Police has successfully dismantled a Pakistan handler–backed pan-India terror module that had been silently working to advance the cause of Khilafat. The group’s ultimate aim was to establish a Caliphate in India under the extremist vision of Gazwa-e-Hind. In a decisive move, police arrested the mastermind along with four of his associates and recovered a large cache of IED-making components, explosives, and ammunition material.
It is important to highlight that terror outfits often exploit the concept of Khilafat to mislead and lure impressionable youth. They portray it as a sacred religious duty and a path to honor, dignity, and justice. By misusing selective religious texts, circulating radical sermons, and amplifying extremist propaganda through online platforms, such groups glorify the idea of a global Islamic state. In reality, however, they conceal the violence, exploitation, and destruction behind their agenda, preying upon vulnerable young individuals struggling with anger, alienation, or identity crises.
In this case, Delhi Police’s Special Cell, in a coordinated operation with state police and anti-terror squads from Jharkhand, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh, managed to break the network. Acting on specific intelligence, the agencies arrested five operatives during a series of raids conducted simultaneously in Delhi, Ranchi, Nizamabad, Thane, Bengaluru, and Rajgarh.
The individuals arrested have been identified as Ashhar Danish (23), Aaftab Nasir Qureshi (25), Sufiyan Abubakar Khan (20), Mohammed Huzaif Yaman (20), and Kamran Qureshi alias Samar Khan (26). According to investigators, two of them — Aaftab Qureshi and Sufiyan Khan — were first intercepted by Special Cell teams near Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station, Delhi. They were found in possession of two semi-automatic pistols and 15 live cartridges. Subsequent raids carried out in Ranchi, Thane, Nizamabad, Bengaluru, and Rajgarh led to the arrests of the remaining accused. From Danish’s rented residence in Ranchi, police recovered explosive chemicals, IED-making components, and other ammunition material.
Investigations further revealed that Ashhar Danish, a postgraduate in English from Ranchi, Jharkhand, was the chief architect and mastermind of the module. Using multiple fake identities across social media platforms, Danish was able to radicalize youth from different parts of the country. He actively attempted to procure arms, ammunition, and chemicals to build a base for the establishment of a so-called Caliphate under Gazwa-e-Hind.
Officials confirmed that Danish was in continuous communication with a Pakistan-based handler. He had also created several WhatsApp and Instagram groups where extremist ideology was propagated. Apart from indoctrination, Danish was personally experimenting with gunpowder, cartridge-making techniques, and improvised arms prototypes.
Preliminary interrogation established how Danish managed to recruit his associates. He reportedly targeted potential recruits on platforms like Omegle and Instagram, gradually indoctrinating them with extremist thought by sharing lectures and speeches of radical clerics, including Tariq Masood, Zakir Naik, and Israr Ahmad. His first recruit, Aaftab Qureshi, a Class 10 dropout, was already active in radical online groups and later brought his friend Sufiyan, a welder, into the fold. Mohammed Huzaif Yaman, a pharmacy student from Telangana, was specifically tasked with studying arms manufacturing techniques. Kamran Qureshi, a lab assistant from Madhya Pradesh, played a key supporting role by providing funds and helping scout for land where a covert terror training base could be set up.
During the raids, authorities made extensive recoveries of arms, explosives, and related material. Among the seizures were two semi-automatic pistols (.32 bore), a country-made pistol, an air gun, and several live cartridges. Chemicals like sulphuric acid, nitric acid, sulphur powder, and sodium bicarbonate were also found.
Additionally, investigators seized copper sheets, steel pipes, and other components used in fabricating IEDs, including wires, circuit boards, diodes, and motherboards. Alongside these, the police recovered two laptops, multiple mobile phones, sharp-edged weapons such as knives, a weighing machine, safety gear, and Rs10,500 in cash.
Police officials stressed that the quick action of the Special Cell and collaborating agencies prevented the network from expanding further and possibly launching attacks.
“Through sustained surveillance, close monitoring, and coordinated efforts of central and state security agencies, a dangerous network being remotely guided by a Pakistan-based handler has been neutralized,” a senior officer said.
Investigations are continuing to identify other possible associates of the group, funding sources, and their foreign links. Authorities believe the busting of this module has thwarted a significant threat to national security.
