Delhi Police two-day remand for suspected AQIS terrorist

Suspected Al Qaeda terrorist Maulana Abdul Rehman, who was arrested by police in Odisha's Cuttack district, was on Wednesday sent on two-day transit remand by a local court.

The Judicial Magistrate First Class court, Salepur in Cuttack district, allowed Delhi Police to take Rehman, who was arrested in Cuttack late on Tuesday, on two-day remand.

Rehman was produced in Salepur court amid tight security.

The police registered cases against Rehman under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

According to sources, the police would examine the literature written in Urdu language seized from the Al-Qaeda suspect.

The arrest was carried out in a joint operation of Odisha and Delhi Police, Police Commissioner R.P. Sharma told the media.

Rehman was suspected to be a member of the Al Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and had links in other countries such as Pakistan and Britain, Sharma said.

The arrest took place at his house in Paschima Kachha village late on Tuesday.

Sharma said Delhi Police had come to know about Rehman's links with the AQIS after tracking his telephone call records.

A PhD on Islam from Deoband in Uttar Pradesh, Rehman ran a seminary in Cuttack district. Most of his students hail from Jharkhand.

According to Delhi Police, Rehman was engaged in recruiting members for Al Qaeda.

However, there was no indication that he was involved in or planning any terrorist activities in Odisha, Sharma said.

The suspect's elder brother, Tahir Ali, was earlier arrested in the 2001 terror attack on the American consulate in Kolkata, he added.

Meanwhile, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said Odisha was prepared and committed to fight any terror threat.

"Odisha prepared and committed to fight terror threat. Good work by various agencies including commissionerate police in arresting terrorist elements," the Chief Minister tweeted.