NEW DELHI: Wanted Al-Qaeda terrorist Syed Mohammad Zishan Ali has been arrested at the IGI airport here, police said on Thursday.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Pramod Singh Kushwah said Ali, 29, a proclaimed offender and hailing from Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, was arrested from Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here on Wednesday.
Kushwah said that on Wednesday, police received information that Ali, along with at least 30 other Indians, has been deported from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for visa violation. He was arrested when he landed here.
In September 2014, a video announcing the constitution of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) was posted by Al-Qaeda over its media arm, following which security agencies made multiple arrests.
Questioning of one of the arrested members of AQIS revealed that Ali was working for the organisation from Saudi Arabia along with his brother, police said.
Kushwah said that though police tried to arrest Ali and other cadres of AQIS, they evaded arrest and were declared proclaimed offenders.
Ali was presented before Additional Sessions Judge Sidharth Sharma on Thursday and he was remanded to 14-day police custody.
Police told the court that Ali has to be taken to various places and his custody is required to unearth the entire conspiracy.
The DCP termed Ali’s arrest as a ‘major achievement’ in safeguarding the nation against dreaded international terrorist organisations like Al-Qaeda.
“His arrest and continuing interrogations are likely to provide crucial leads about his other associates and also about infiltration and expanse of AQIS in India and neighbouring countries,” Kushwah said. IANS
