Arrested Saudi-Based LeT Handler From Odisha Produced In Delhi Court

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday produced Habibur Rahman alias Habib, a resident of Odisha’s Kendrapara district, in Delhi’s Patiala House Courts seeking his remand for interrogation.

One of the handlers of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Shaikh Abdul Naeem alias Nomi, he was arrested the previous day after being deported from Saudi Arabia.

According to the NIA, Naeem was arrested in 2007 while trying to infiltrate two Pakistani and a Kashmiri terrorist into India through Bangladesh.

However, he escaped from the custody while he was being taken for court attendance to Maharashtra from Kolkata in August 2014. After his escape, he had joined the LeT on the directions of his handlers based in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

A well-established conspiracy was hatched between the accused for targeting vulnerable locations in India with the intent of causing maximum damage, the sources further said.

Naeem was instructed by the Pakistan-based LeT terrorist Amjad alias Rehan to identify the locations where terrorist attacks can be carried out. To accomplish the task, he had visited different states including Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh with fake identities.

To carry out the terror operation, Rahman had arranged hideouts and funds for him on different occasions, the sources added.

Naeem was arrested again in November 2017 and has been since charge-sheeted along with 10 other co-accused including Rehman by the NIA.