Technician trained as bomber in Pakistan arrested, had plans to attack high profile politicians

NEW DELHI The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) with the help of Delhi and Kolkata police arrested a 32-year-old technician allegedly trained as suicide bomber from Borivali on Friday, who recently arrived after taking arms and ammunition training from Pakistan and was having links with the Dawood gang.

The Delhi police informed the Maharashtra ATS after they getting a tip-off about the suspect from their Kolkata counterparts. According to Maharashtra ATS, Jogeshwari resident Faisal Hasan Mirza was working as a freelance technician and had gone to Pakistan recently to receive terror-related training.

A Delhi Special Cell police officer was quoted in ‘DNA’ that he had been instructed by Dawood Ibrahim’s close confidante Chhota Shakeel to carry out terror attacks in India and top politicians were in his hit list.

During interrogation, it was revealed that an accused in a terror-related case based outside Sharjah had arranged for him to travel there. After staying in Sharjah for some time, Mirza travelled to Dubai and later to Karachi, the daily quoted another officer as saying. It added that it was in Karachi where Mirza received training on how to operate firearms and make explosives. He had stayed here for almost three months.

Officers said Mirza was trained at Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) camps for carrying out attacks in several places in India and also the assassination of influential personalities. Few crowded places and government establishments in Mumbai were on his hit list.

At the training camp, Mirza was trained in handling weapons, bomb-making, and how to carry out fidayeen or suicide attacks. after completion of training, Mirza went to Dubai and then flew back to Mumbai. Even in Mumbai, he was in touch with his handlers in Pakistan via social media and other communication modes.