NEW DELHI: Indian police have arrested three militants suspected of planning terror attacks in New Delhi during a major Hindu festival season that starts later this month, police said yesterday.
The three are members of the Indian militant group, police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar said. The group has links to Pakistan’s Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has claimed responsibility for some previous terrorist attacks in India.
The three suspects were arrested in New Delhi over the past two weeks, Kumar told reporters. He said they were responsible for several small explosions in the western city of Pune in August in which one person was injured. A Pune cafe popular with foreigners was the target of a 2010 bombing that killed 17 people.
Police recovered explosives, detonators and batteries used in bombs from the suspects, Kumar said.
Police didn’t give any details of the planned attacks. Large numbers of people gather for religious ceremonies and for shopping during the festival season.
Kumar said the questioning of Syed Zabiuddin Ansari, an Indian citizen who was considered to be a key player in attacks in Mumbai in 2008, helped lead to the three suspects.
Ansari was arrested at New Delhi’s airport in June. Investigators said Ansari was linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Indian police arrest militants ‘planning Delhi attack’
