Lucknow: A joint team of special cell of Delhi police and UP ATS carried out searches at the house of a man identified as Hasan, 54, in Chakdondi locality of Naini in Prayagraj on Saturday morning for his alleged links with recently arrested ISIS operative from state capital.
The searches follow arrest of an IS operative Rizwan Ashraf, an engineer, from Lucknow on October 2.
Rizwan along with Mohammed Shahnawaz Alam and Arshad Warsi was arrested from Delhi on October 2. They were planning attacks in Ayodhya, Delhi’s Akshardham and Chabad house in Mumbai.
Sources said, a heavy force consisting of a dozen SUVs swooped at the Naini house in the morning. The road leading to the house was sealed. After the operation that lasted for several hours, four persons were questioned by the two units, but their identities have not been revealed. Police said Hasan is the brother-in-law of slain ganglord Atiq Ahmed’s henchman Pappu Ganjia.
Sources privy to the probe said Hasan was grilled during the searches and some documents, gadgets were scanned. The teams also visited the premises of his two relatives.
A senior officer privy to the probe disclosed that nothing suspicious was recovered or found. Hence, the team left for Delhi.
Additional DG, ATS, Mohit Agarwal, confirmed about the search operations and said: “We are only giving support to the special cell of Delhi police and assisting in the probe.”
