Lashkar terror module busted in Delhi: How Bangladesh-based handler answered to ‘Chacha Ji’ Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan

Suspects who were nabbed for allegedly plotting a major terror conspiracy at the behest of Pakistan's ISI and Bangladesh-based extremist organisations, according to police sources, in New Delhi, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. Eight suspects have been nabbed so far. (PTI Photo/Atul Yadav)

Delhi police busted a Lashkar-e-Taiba module led by Shabir Ahmed Lone, an Indian-born, Bangladesh-based operative linked to Pakistan’s top terror leaders. Lone recruited Bangladeshi nationals in India, used encrypted communication, and remains absconding.

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The busting of a Lashkar-e-Taiba terror module in Delhi has once again exposed Pakistan’s continued use of proxy terror networks to target India, this time by exploiting Bangladesh as a rear base. At the centre of the plot is Shabir Ahmed Lone, an Indian-born, Bangladesh-based operative accused of orchestrating recruitment, propaganda and logistics for Lashkar inside India.

According to intelligence sources quoted by NDTV, Lone was not a low-level operative but a direct conduit to Lashkar’s top leadership in Pakistan. His activities underline how Pakistan’s terror infrastructure remains active, adaptive and unapologetic, even as Islamabad claims to have dismantled such networks.

Direct links to Lashkar’s top leadership

Investigators say Lone was in direct contact with Lashkar founder Hafiz Saeed and senior commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, both among India’s most wanted terrorists.

To evade detection, Saeed was referred to by the code name “chacha ji", while Lakhvi was called “taya ji", sources told NDTV.

Lone was also close to another senior Lashkar operative, Abu Al Qama, who has been linked to the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and last year’s car bomb attack near Delhi’s Red Fort. Al Qama reportedly recruited Lone into terrorism in 2005.

Delhi connections and recruitment drive

Despite being based in Bangladesh, Lone frequently travelled to Delhi to meet contacts and facilitate recruitment, officials said. His primary role was to radicalise and recruit Bangladeshi nationals illegally residing in India as part of a larger Lashkar conspiracy.

On Sunday, anti-terror agencies dismantled the module and arrested eight individuals, including seven Bangladeshi nationals. Lone remains absconding.

The investigation began after pro-Pakistan, pro-terror posters surfaced across Delhi. Raids followed in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, both heading into elections, exposing the geographic spread of the network.

Lone’s last known Delhi location was Shaheen Bagh.

A familiar terror operative

This is not Lone’s first brush with Indian law enforcement. In 2007, Delhi Police’s Special Cell arrested him after recovering arms and ammunition, including an AK-47 and grenades.

He was lodged in Tihar Jail and released in 2018. He fled to Bangladesh soon after and returned the following year, allegedly to revive Lashkar’s India network by activating sleeper cells that had crossed over illegally.

Police sources told NDTV that Lone was backed and funded by Inter-Services Intelligence to recruit Bangladeshi nationals and plan terror attacks in India.

Propaganda, funding and encrypted communication

The pro-terror posters that triggered the probe were printed in Kolkata, but the PDF files were emailed by Lone from Bangladesh. Two men accused of pasting them, Umar Faruk and Robiul Islam, have been arrested.

Faruk was allegedly instructed to summon six Lashkar operatives to Kolkata ahead of an attack. Lone also funded the rental of a house near Kolkata for Rs 8,000 a month and transferred an additional Rs 80,000 to set up a second base.

Further funds were planned to procure weapons. All communication between Lone and his module was conducted via Signal, an encrypted messaging platform.

Pakistan’s terror footprint in Bangladesh

Intelligence assessments reviewed by NDTV suggest that a full unit of Pakistan’s ISI is already operating in Bangladesh, using local extremist groups as cover.

Among them is Jama'at Mujahideen Bangladesh, which has been designated a terrorist organisation by Australia and linked to the 2005 nationwide bombings across Bangladesh.

Offshoots of the group have also been connected to ISIS, reinforcing concerns that Pakistan-backed terror networks are embedding themselves deeper into the region.

The Lone case makes one thing clear. Pakistan’s terror ecosystem remains intact, mobile and lethal, with Lashkar-e-Taiba continuing to target India by exploiting regional fault lines and weak enforcement beyond its borders.