IS suspect held in Delhi

A man suspected of links with the Islamic State (IS) terror outfit has been arrested in Delhi, police said on Friday.

Mohsin Abraham Sayeed (26), a resident of Malad in Mumbai, was arrested from the Kashmere Gate Inter-State Bus Terminal on late Thursday night by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police.

"We arrested IS suspect Mohsin Abraham on a tip-off and recovered Rs.85,000 from his possession," Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Arvind Deep told IANS.

He said Sayeed was in touch with four IS suspects arrested on January 19 in Haridwar district of Uttarakhand.

Sayeed's arrest takes the number of IS suspects arrested by Delhi Police to five.

The arrest of other four suspects -- Akhlaq-ur-Rehman, Mohammad Osama alias Adil, Mohammad Azimu Shaan and Mehraj -- was based on specific information by central intelligence agencies.

They allegedly planned to carry out bombings during the ongoing Ardh Kumbh pilgrimage in Haridwar, in Roorkee-Haridwar trains, in Delhi and some parts of the National Capital Region.

The Ardh Kumbh pilgrimage began on January 1 and will end on April 30. During the four-month religious congregation, over five crore pilgrims are expected to visit Haridwar to bathe in the holy Ganga river.

The officer said Sayeed had arranged for finances for the four other arrested suspects and handed over Rs.50,000 to Akhlaq. He has been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Another officer privy to the investigations told IANS that all the arrested IS suspects were in touch with former Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative Safi Armar who, intelligence agencies say, is the main recruiter of Indian men lured by the IS ideology.

Armar, intelligence sources said, is now believed to be in Syria and is a key member of Ansar-ul-Tawhid, a recruiting wing that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.