Government counsel Mithlesh Singh said Shah was produced before a concerned court that sent him to judicial custody. (Representational) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) Monday arrested a 22-year-old man from Jammu and Kashmir with alleged connection to al Qaeda-linked Ansar Ghazwat-ul Hind who was allegedly planning to carry out blasts in Lucknow and scout recruits for the terror module.
The police said the accused, Tawheed Ahmed Shah, is from Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district. He was also planning to carry out suicide bombings in crowded places, they claimed.
Government counsel Mithlesh Singh said Shah was produced before a concerned court that sent him to judicial custody. He added that they would seek Shah’s police custody remand to question him in detail.
Shah’s arrest comes after the arrest of five other accused who were caught in July last year while allegedly planning to carry out terrorist acts and recruit members for the terror module. During the investigation, the police said they got to know that the accused were in touch with the proscribed group and were planning blasts in Uttar Pradesh. The police raided their homes and recovered illegal weapons, explosives and an IED fitted in a pressure cooker, among other things.
The police have already arrested five accused identified as Minhaz Ahmed, Maseeruddin alias Mushir, Shakeel, Mohammad Mustakeem and Mohammad Moid – all residents of Lucknow – in connection with the case. They all are lodged in jail.
Singh said that the police have filed chargesheet against the five accused.
As per a press release issued by the NIA, Shah was the mastermind behind the Ansar Ghazwat-ul Hind’s plan to scout recruits for the terror module and execute terrorist acts.
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