The Delhi Police Special Cell foiled a major terrorist plot on Monday, March 30, arresting Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Shabbir Ahmed Lone from the Delhi border — a Pakistani intelligence-backed operative who was allegedly running anti-India terror modules from Bangladesh and is believed to be the mastermind behind the recently unearthed Metro Poster Case.

A resident of Kangan village in Srinagar, Shabbir Ahmed Lone — also known by the aliases Raja and Kashmiri — has a long history with Indian security agencies. He was first arrested by the Special Cell in 2007 with a large cache of weapons including AK-47s and grenades, and was imprisoned in Tihar Jail until 2018. At the time of his first arrest, he had established connections with Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed and Lashkar co-founder Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi — both UN-designated global terrorists.

Following his release, Lone relocated to Bangladesh, from where he allegedly resumed Lashkar operations against India under the direction of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence. Investigations have revealed that he received specialised terrorist training — including Daura-e-Aam and Daura-e-Khas courses — at a Lashkar camp in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan. He was receiving regular funding and operational support from the ISI, and had been actively recruiting Bangladeshi youth living illegally in India for terrorist activities.

Initial investigations suggest Lone was the handler and mastermind of the module linked to the Metro Poster Case — a recently surfaced plot that had raised serious security concerns. Police are now interrogating him to map his associate network and identify other active modules.