LeT terrorist handler from Kendrapara arrested in Delhi

NEW DELHI/KENDRAPARA: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested a terrorist handler for Pakistani-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group from New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. The arrested, Habibur Rahaman alias Habib, belonging to Kendrapara district of Odisha, was nabbed by the anti-terror agency on his arrival from Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

According to the agency, Habib was one of the handlers of LeT terrorist Shaikh Abdul Naeem alias Nomi, who was initially arrested in 2007 while trying to infiltrate two Pakistani and one Kashmiri terrorist into India through Bangladesh. In August 2014, Naeem managed to escape from custody while being taken to a court in Maharashtra from Kolkata, and again got engaged in terror operations for the next three years.

On the direction of his handlers in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, Naeem’s task was to identify locations in India where terrorist attacks could be carried out. Habib was responsible for arranging hideouts and funds for him on the directions of the Pakistan-based LeT commander Amjad alias Rehan. “A well established conspiracy was hatched by the accused for targeting vulnerable locations in India with intent of causing maximum damage,” the agency said in a statement. When Naeem was arrested by the NIA in November 2017, he was charge-sheeted along with 10 other co-accused including Habibur Rehman, a spokesperson said and added that the latter would be produced in Patiala House court to seek NIA custody for his interrogation.

Meanwhile, Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Kendrapara, Rajiv Lochana Panda said they were yet to trace the address and family of Habibur.

In 2016, police had arrested Abdul Rehman of Paschimkachha village in Kendrapara district for his alleged links with Al Qaeda. The Crime Branch also probed the link of Rehman with  some madrasas as he was a student of Jamia Ashraful Uloom madrasa of Goudagopa locality in Kendrapara town from 1990 to 1995.