Delhi Police Special Cell has arrested Shabbir Ahmad Lone, a prominent Lashkar-e-Taiba commander, near the Bangladesh border following an intensive two-month manhunt.

The operation, closely monitored by Police Commissioner Satish Golcha, culminated in Lone's capture after he had been operating a terror module from a hideout near Dhaka.

A special team under Additional CP Pramod Kushwaha, ACP Lalit Negi, and Inspector Sunil Rajain tracked Lone after his involvement surfaced in recruiting youths for terrorist activities across Delhi, Kolkata, and Tamil Nadu. Police described the pursuit as a tense "cat-and-mouse chase" that finally bore fruit.

Lone, originally from Kangan in Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir, hails from a middle-class family. He studied up to Class 8 and later completed a two-year madrasa course in Batmalu. Recruited into Lashkar-e-Taiba around 2004-05 by a terrorist known as Huzaifa, he has a long history of terror involvement.

He was first arrested by Delhi Police in 2007 under UAPA charges, with authorities recovering an AK-47 rifle, a pistol, and USD 280. Convicted, he served six years in jail and was released in 2013. In 2016, he faced another arrest under the Arms Act alongside Sajjad Gul.

After securing bail in 2019, Lone fled to Bangladesh, emerging as a major concern for security agencies and Delhi's Anti-Terror Squad. He re-established contact with his handler Huzaifa via Telegram in 2016, radicalising and recruiting youth into LeT cadre.

Huzaifa introduced Lone to Sumama, also known as Babar or Iliyas, a Pakistan-based LeT commander wanted by Counter-Intelligence Kashmir under UAPA and IPC cases. Sumama motivated recruits, primarily in the Kashmir Valley, using social media platforms.

In 2025, Sumama tasked Lone with expanding recruitment to Bangladeshis and youths from other Indian regions. Lone moved to Delhi, where he recruited Umar Faruk. With Faruk's assistance, he crossed into Bangladesh and enlisted seven more individuals.

Anti-national posters plastered in Delhi and Kolkata were supplied by Sumama. These included pro-Pakistan slogans like "India stop genocide & Free Kashmir" and "Hum Pakistani Hain, Pakistan Hamara Hai", praising militant Burhan Wani. Videos of the posters being put up at Janpath and metro stations on 8 February 2026 were sent to handlers as proof.

Following Faruk's arrest, Lone was directed to return to India and broaden the network. Raids in Kolkata, West Bengal, and Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, led to eight arrests, including seven Bangladeshi nationals who had procured fake Indian identity documents.

Seizures included 10 mobile phones with incriminating data, 25 credit and debit cards, five POS machines, and Bangladeshi passports. Evidence revealed advanced planning for attacks on key installations, with photos and coordinates of a Chandni Chowk temple found on devices.

Technical surveillance traced suspects from Delhi via a Patna connecting flight back to Kolkata. Week-long raids dismantled the modules. The West Bengal group, led by Umar Faruk (31) from Malda, coordinated operations and recruited Bangladeshis; Robiul Islam (31) from Thakurgaon assisted with posters.
In Tiruppur, arrests included Mohammed Sefayat Hossain (34) from Jhalakathi, and Mizanur Rehman (32), Zahidul Islam (40), Mohd. Liton (40), Mohd. Uzzal (27), and Umar (32), all Bangladeshi nationals from Bogura district.

Lone, alias Raja Kashmiri, a trained LeT terrorist from Muzaffarabad, had links to Hafiz Saeed. He targeted illegal Bangladeshi migrants in India as low-profile recruits.

Security agencies now pursue Sheikh Sajjad Gul, arrested in 2002 at Delhi's Nizamuddin station, who fled to Pakistan post-2017 release and leads The Resistance Front (TRF), linked to attacks like Pahalgam.

Agencies