‘Terror plot targeting Kumbh Mela busted’

With the arrest of four persons with suspected ISIS links from Manglour in Uttarakhand, Delhi Police on Wednesday claimed to have unearthed a terror plot to target the ongoing Ardh Kumbh Mela at Haridwar. 

The suspects, identified as Akhlaq ur-Rehman, Mohammed Osama, Mohammed Azim Shah and Mehroz were arrested from Manglour town in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar district on Tuesday and produced in a court on Wednesday which sent them to 15 days’ police custody, Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Arvind Deep said. 

“The four suspects were tracked down with inputs from a central intelligence agency. They had planned to carry out terror attacks at the Ardh Kumbh mela, trains heading towards Haridwar passing through Roorkie and some strategic locations in Delhi,” Deep said. 

According to sources, the suspects were allegedly in contact of a former Indian Mujahideen operative, who later went for training in Syria and is presently believed to be a key member of Ansar-ut Tawhid fi Bilad al-Hind which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. 

One of the suspects, Akhlaq, is also being questioned in connection with the attacks at Pathankot.