Delhi Police arrests NIA’s most wanted & suspected terrorist Shahnawaz

Police said that the accused, a mining engineer by profession, who managed to escape from the custody of Pune police, has been arrested with three of his associates

The special cell of Delhi Police has arrested one of National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) most wanted terrorists, Shahnawaz, carrying a reward of ₹3 lakh and having alleged links with an ISIS module, officials said.

Uzzama’s arrest is the part of the NIA’s ongoing efforts to apprehend individuals linked to the Pune ISIS module case. (Representative file image)

32-year-old Shahnawaz alias Shafi Uzzama was arrested for his alleged involvement in Pune ISIS module from a place in Delhi.

Police said that the accused, a mining engineer by profession, who managed to escape from the custody of Pune police, has been arrested with three of his associates, when they were planning to carry out terror incidents in north India on the instructions from foreign based ISIS handlers.

A senior Delhi Police officer said that an alumnus of Vishwakarma Institute of Technology (VIT) Pune, Uzzama’s arrest is the part of the NIA’s ongoing efforts to apprehend individuals linked to the Pune ISIS module case.

The officer further said that the special cell has also recovered incriminating materials from the suspects, believed to be used for IED fabrication.

“They were planning to carry out terror incidents in north India on the instructions from foreign based ISIS handlers. Earlier, Uzzama and two others, Mohammad Imran Mohammad Yunus Khan and Mohammad Yunus Mohammad Yakub Saki, were arrested by the Kothrud police in Pune on July 18 following their attempted theft of a two-wheeler. When the police were taking them to their residence at Kondhwa in Pune for a search, Uzzama jumped out of the police vehicle and managed to escape,” he added.