According to a Times of India report, the alleged ISIS operatives arrested by the NIA (National Investigation Agency) last week used the noise of Diwali crackers to cover up the noise to test-fire the pistols.
Members of the Islamic State module, including mastermind Mufti Mohd Suhail, while getting together from time to time in Delhi and Amroha, tested the 12 pistols. The pistols were reportedly procured from illegal arms suppliers in Western UP’s Meerut and Hapur areas. After detecting some technical problem with the pistols the accused got them repaired and retested them during Diwali, hoping that the noise of the weapons would get defused by the noise of the crackers.
The test-run of these pistols, which the NIA had earlier seized during the raids, was a part of preparations for a ‘fidayeen’ terror attack, confessed the accused during interrogation.
Earlier, some ‘knowledgeable’ Twitter users and the so-called appraised journalists casting aspersions on the exemplary work carried out by the NIA had laughed off the NIA raid for presenting ‘sutli bombs’ as part of the confiscated objects, suggesting such sutli bombs are harmless and it can’t be a terrorist plot. Many people accused the NIA of making up a fictitious terror module. They also mocked the recovery of handmade pistols, saying even local level gangs don’t use such weapons nowadays.
OpIndia had earlier explained why mocking the NIA for the recovery of sutli bombs and handmade pistols was inappropriate and now with this confession, it further stands clear, why this mockery was uncalled for.
Along with the use of ‘sutli bombs’ and handmade pistols, the accused also revealed the application of the crude rocket launchers (the accused made out of hydraulic jacks used to lift tractor trolleys), which the module was planning to utilise in coordinating the attacks.
Following the interrogation of the 10 accused, NIA further confirmed that the members of the module were following the instructions of their handlers to escape tracking by creating a chat group on a social media app Telegram, deleting it and then creating a new chat group every few days.
NIA investigators further clarified that the modus operandi of the Delhi-UP IS module was similar to IS-inspired groups busted earlier wherein the module is handled by foreign-based identity who are in touch with the group through a local mastermind. The appointed mastermind radicalises the youths for carrying out such terror activities in India.