Delhi Police get seven days’ custody of Hizb terrorist

The special cell said Javed Mattu was in India for the past three days on directions of his Pakistan-based handlers to collect resources for terror strikes

A Delhi court on Friday granted the Delhi Police special cell seven days’ custody of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen terrorist Javed Ahmed Mattu, who is among the top 10 terrorists designated by the Union ministry of home affairs.

The special cell had arrested Javed Ahmed Mattu, who also goes by Irsad Ahmed Malla and Mohammad Ehsan, from the Nizamuddin area on Thursday (Representational image)

The special cell had arrested Mattu, who also goes by the names Irsad Ahmed Malla and Mohammad Ehsan, from the Nizamuddin area on Thursday and recovered a 9mm star pistol along with six cartridges, an extra magazine and a stolen car from his possession, officials had said.

Producing Mattu in court on Friday, the special cell said he was in India for the past three days on directions of his Pakistan-based handlers to collect arms, ammunition, and explosives from the Capital to carry out terror strikes in Jammu and Kashmir, and sought his custody for seven days.

Advocate Rahul Sahani, appearing for Mattu, opposed the remand, submitting that his client is cooperating with the investigation.

However, chief metropolitan magistrate (CMM) Nabeela Wali allowed the special cell application and sent Mattu to police custody till January 12.

According to the special cell, Mattu was part of the group of seven Hizb-ul-Mujahideen terrorists who carried out at least 11 known terror attacks in Kashmir. Of the seven, four were killed during encounters with security forces in the valley. Apart from Mattu, the other two – Abdul Majid Jarger aka Shaheen, and Imtiyaz Kundu – fled to Pakistan, officers said.

At least two special cell officers privy to the matter said that Mattu was “re-launched” in India by Shaheen.

“Shaheen is presently operating from Pakistan… He is the one who managed finances and logistics for the outfit’s operatives in Kashmir… Among the seven, it was Mattu whose target attack was the most accurate. It could be the reason for his relaunch in the valley. We suspect that Mattu received training in handling firearms, rocket launchers, and preparing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Pakistan’s terror training camps,” one of the special cell officers said, on condition of anonymity.

“Mattu is a hardcore and trained terrorist who knows how to mislead interrogators and dodge their questions. We have been trying to learn from him the routes through which he entered India and reached Delhi, who all helped him, and how he was contacting his handler. While he denies ever going to Pakistan, we have evidence to prove that he had multiple tours to that country between 2012 and 2023,” the second officer said.