Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist, Shabir Ahmed Lone, handler of the recently busted LeT module in Metro Poster Case, is brought to the Patiala House Court in New Delhi on March 30, 2026, after a team of Special Cell/NDR arrested him.
| Photo Credit: ANI
The Special Cell of Delhi Police has arrested a suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) handler from Ghazipur area in Delhi, officials said on Monday (March 30, 2026). The arrest of Shabir Ahmed Lone, according to the police, came after they learnt about his connections with the “anti-India” posters in several Delhi metro stations on February 22.Calling Lone a “hardcore and highly-trained terrorist”, the officials said that he reportedly established links with handlers operating on behalf of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). “Lone, also known by aliases Raja and Kashmiri, is a resident of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir and was allegedly operating as the handler of a recently-busted module involved in pasting anti-national posters across multiple locations in Delhi and Kolkata,” a senior police officer said.“The arrest of Lone marks a significant breakthrough in the ongoing investigation into the metro poster case, which had triggered security concerns earlier this year,” the officer added.The accused was arrested after a manhunt led by DCP Praveen Tripathi. “During the arrest, police recovered multiple foreign currencies and other incriminating material from his possession. These included approximately 2,300 units of Bangladeshi Taka, 1,400 units of Nepalese currency, 5,000 units of Pakistani currency, and 3,000 units of Indian currency,” a senior officer aware of the matter said. A Nepalese SIM card was also seized, raising suspicions about cross-border communication and operational coordination.“The module was being run at the behest of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), with Lone acting as a key conduit between handlers based abroad and operatives on the ground in India,” the officer said. He further said that Lone has a long history of involvement in terror activities and had been previously arrested in 2007 by the Special Cell. At that time, an AK-47 rifle and a hand grenade were recovered from his possession. He was again arrested in 2015 in Srinagar.“Lone is trained to execute targeted killings. He is a highly trained operative who has undergone terror training ‘Daura-e-Aam’ (basic terror training) and ‘Daura-e-Khaas’ (advanced terror training) from the Muzaffarabad LeT camp in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,” the officer added. He further said that following his release, the accused allegedly fled to Bangladesh and began rebuilding a fresh terror network targeting India.During his stay in Bangladesh, Lone reportedly established links with new handlers affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba. These handlers, identified by their code names Abu Huzaifa and Sumama Babar, were operating on behalf of ISI. The officer added that the investigation revealed Lone’s task was to resume terror activities in India by activating sleeper cells and recruiting fresh operatives. “He used Bangladesh as a base to facilitate infiltration and coordination,” the officer said.The probe revealed that Lone had set up an operational base in Kolkata, which served as a launch pad for activities across multiple States. From this base, the module carried out a “test run” by pasting pro-Pakistan and anti-national posters at prominent locations in Delhi and Kolkata, assessing their operational capabilities and response mechanisms.The operatives also conducted reconnaissance of several sensitive locations across the country, including temples and high-footfall public places. Videos of these reconnaissance missions were recorded and transmitted to handlers in Pakistan, police said.He is currently being interrogated to identify other associates, financial links, and potential targets, police said. “Possible hawala channels and cross-border funding mechanisms connected to the recovered foreign currencies are also being probed,” the officer added. Published - March 30, 2026 01:04 pm IST
