Terrorist Arrested in Haryana Made Wooden Gun Models: Planned to Attack Ram Temple with Grenades

The terrorist arrested from Faridabad for plotting an attack on the Ram Temple had been practicing weapon-making at home, police investigation has revealed. Abdul Rahman, who was apprehended on March 2, had created wooden models of weapons and sketched AK-47 designs on charts found at his residence.

Wooden Weapon Models and Attack Plans

During interrogation, Abdul Rahman told police that a hand grenade was delivered to him in Faridabad by an accomplice from Delhi. He was supposed to pass this grenade to a third associate as part of a planned attack on the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on Ram Navami. Investigation revealed that Rahman was in contact with Jharkhand-based terrorist Abu Sufiyan. 

The Special Task Force (STF) of Faridabad Police is currently questioning Rahman to determine whether he was planning to carry out the attack himself or had accomplices. Rahman was arrested from the Pali area of Faridabad on March 2 based on intelligence inputs from Gujarat ATS and IB. On March 3, he was presented in court and remanded to police custody for 10 days for further questioning at the Palwal STF office.

Previous Assignment: Mahakumbh Attack 

During interrogation, Rahman revealed that he was initially tasked with carrying out an attack at the Mahakumbh. He was instructed to collect hand grenades from Faridabad for this purpose. However, the plan was abandoned when his father fell ill, and he refused to travel at that time. Following this, the conspiracy to attack the Ram Temple was set in motion. 

Terrorist Network Connections

Abdul Rahman told the Faridabad STF that he was in direct contact with notorious terrorist Abu Sufiyan, a resident of Chatra in Jharkhand. The two regularly communicated via WhatsApp calls. Following Sufiyan's instructions, Rahman traveled from Nizamuddin to Badhkhal Chowk by bus and then reached Pali village.

Security agencies believe Abu Sufiyan has received training from ISI in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. He reportedly radicalizes poor youth across different parts of the country through his sleeper cells, converting them into terrorists. 

Cross-Border Weapon Smuggling Suspected 

The STF suspects that the two hand grenades recovered from Abdul Rahman were smuggled from across the border in Pakistan. Investigators believe the weapons were delivered via drones in border areas of Punjab or Rajasthan before being transported to Faridabad and handed over to Rahman.

Journey to Radicalization 

According to village sources, Abdul Rahman first visited Delhi about seven months ago to attend a gathering at the Nizamuddin Markaz, after which he returned to his village Majnai in Ayodhya. He traveled to Delhi again on March 1. 

Police recovered two mobile phones from Rahman containing inflammatory videos and reconnaissance footage of religious sites. Authorities suspect he may have uploaded radical content on social media himself, which eventually led to his contact with Abu Sufiyan of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS). 

The joint team of Gujarat ATS and Faridabad STF continues to investigate the case, examining CCTV footage from the bus stand and Pali area while searching for the auto driver who transported Rahman to his hideout.