The Uttar Pradesh Police’s ‘Anti-Terrorism Branch’ (ATS) has apprehended another ISIS terrorist from Durg, Chhattisgarh. The name of the terrorist who has been arrested is Wajihuddin Ali Khan. He has been pursuing PhD at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in Uttar Pradesh. On Tuesday (7th November), the ATS apprehended him from Durg, Chhattisgarh. Later, the terrorist was moved to Lucknow on transit remand.
According to information obtained by OpIndia from police sources, the arrested terrorist Wajihuddin is originally from Durg in Chhattisgarh. He was pursuing his PhD at AMU. Wajihuddin used to teach social science subjects (history, geography, and civics) to his junior students including Hindu students in Aligarh. He was known as ‘Amir’ by those who embraced his ideology. The word Amir is considered the title of a king among Muslims.
ATS also arrested AMU associates and ISIS terrorists Abdullah Arshlan and Maaz bin Tariq earlier this week. Wajihuddin, Abdullah Arshlan, and Maaz Bin Tariq are also connected to the Pune ISIS network. According to a report by Times of India, Wajihuddin’s name had emerged while the ATS was questioning Arshlan and Tariq. ATS has said that Wajihuddin had ISIS handlers and was planning a terror attack in the state – he would also train Muslims to wage jihad and recruit them to ISIS.
According to the ATS, Wajihuddin was the mastermind who had recruited Arshlan (BTech in petroleum and chemical engineering) and Tariq (pursuing Bcom) to be ISIS terrorists.
The UP ATS press release categorically mentioned that Shahnawaz and Rizwan, arrested in the Pune ISIS module earlier in the year were closely associated with students from SAMU (Students of AMU group). They were ISIS terrorists who were recruiting other ISIS terrorists from SAMU.
From Wajihuddin and the others arrested, ISIS literature was recovered and it was also discovered that they were sharing this ISIS literature among each other and other students as well. Pertinently, Shahnawaz, Rizwan and Arshad Warsi, who were arrested in the Pune ISIS module, were planning terror attacks in Ayodhya, Akshardham Temple and Chabar House.
Pune ISIS module and Delhi Riots connection – ISIS terrorist Arshad Warsi and Sharjeel Imam
On 3rd October, NIA arrested three Jihadis connected to the ISIS Pune terror module. They were planning terror attacks against India. The prime accused – Shahanawaz, had a bounty of Rs 3 lakh on his head. According to the Delhi Police, the module planned to carry out terror attacks across India through instructions from foreign-based handlers. Shahnawaz alias Shafi Uzzama was arrested by the Delhi Police special cell from a hideout in the national capital.
The NIA has also recovered chemical substances from Shahnawaz and other incriminating material suspected to be used for IED fabrication. The NIA had announced a cash reward of Rs 3 lakh each for information about Shahnawaz and three other terror suspects namely Rizwan Abdul, Haji Ali, Abdulla Faiyaz Shaikh alias Diaperwala, and Talha Liyakat Khan. Reportedly, Shahnawaz, Abdulla, and Rizwan were radicalised into joining the ISIS mission over the Telegram app and planned to engineer violence and terror in the country.
Police said the accused are Shahnawaz Alam (31), a resident of Hazaribagh in Jharkhand; Mohammad Rizwan Ashraf (28) from Lucknow; and Mohammad Arshad Warsi from Garhwa district in Jharkhand. The latter was presently residing in Delhi’s Jamia Nagar. While Rizwan Ashraf was arrested from Lucknow, Shahnawaz was arrested from Jaitpur and Warsi from Moradabad. Iron pipes, chemicals, time devices, and pistol cartridges, among other items used to make explosives, were recovered from Shahnawaz’s possession.
Most interestingly, the authorities have released that Pakistan ISI and ISIS were handling the activities of the three terrorists now arrested. The police said that the three terrorists had sworn allegiance to ISIS and their Pakistani ISI handlers also had connections to ISIS. They added that ISIS operated from the background to ensure that they did not come to the notice of international agencies and law enforcement organisations.
Shahnawaz, who is the prime accused in this case, had come to Delhi in the year 2016. The police said that he would go to Shaheen Bagh and listen to speeches by the Radical Islamic group Hizb-ut-Tahrir. It was during his time in Shaheen Bagh that he swore allegiance to ISIS. Shahanawaz met Rizwan during this time and they became friends. Both of them were influenced by ISIS at this time. Interestingly, Arshad Warsi also came to Delhi in 2016 after completing his B-Tech from Aligarh Muslim University. He had crossed paths with Shahnawaz and become friends while they were attending one of the programs together. It is not clear what the program was, but since Warsi was settled in Jamia Nagar, one could possibly conclude that they met during the radical Islamic programs in Shaheen Bagh too.
It was Mohammad Arshad Warsi who facilitated the sheltering of Shahnavaz, a most-wanted terrorist with a reward of 3 lakh rupees on his head. Warsi was also involved in plotting terrorist attacks. Following the information revealed in the interrogation of Mohammad Arshad Warsi, the Delhi Police Special Cell managed to locate and arrest Shahnavaz.
Hailing from Jharkhand, Mohammad Arshad Warsi holds a BTech degree from Aligarh Muslim University and is presently enrolled in a PhD program at Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), where he specialises in ‘Islamic Principles in Management’.
Arshad Warsi, who is now arrested for being an ISIS terrorist and planning bomb blasts in Delhi along with other ISIS terrorists, was intricately involved in the Delhi anti-Hindu riots as well. In fact, Arshad Warsi along with Sharjeel Imam planted the seed of the violence which culminated in the Delhi anti-Hindu riots in 2020.
In the 2700-page chargesheet filed pertaining to FIR 59/2020, the Delhi Police dedicate almost 700 pages to the chronology of the conspiracy hatched for the Delhi anti-Hindu riots in 2020. In fact, the chargesheet displayed evidence that the conspiracy started right from the 5th of December 2019. It is in these crucial stages of planning that Arshad Warsi features along with Sharjeel Imam.
According to the chargesheet filed by the Delhi Police, after CAB was tabled in both houses of the parliament on the 4th of December, on the 5th of December a group called Muslim Students of JNU (MSJ) was formed by Sharjeel Imam who was the main member of the group and its creation was also his brainchild.
The chats that have been procured by the Delhi police after a perusal of the phones confiscated from Sharjeel and other accused, it was revealed that Sharjeel Imam and Arshad Warsi (student of Jamia) were in constant touch and Sharjeel was also in touch with “radical communal group” Students of Jamia (SOJ).
While the chargesheets were being reported and even during the investigation into the Delhi anti-Hindu riots, Arshad Warsi seemed like a smaller player whose role was limited to coordination with Jamia radicals and Sharjeel Imam. However, with the latest revelations, it is evident that Arshad Warsi was an ISIS terrorist who was involved in planning and coordinating the violence from the beginning.
The full report of the chats recovered between Sharjeel Imam and Arshad Warsi can be read here.
Who is Wajihuddin Ali Khan – Now arrested by UP ATS for being an ISIS terrorist
Wajihuddin Ali Khan was pursuing PhD at AMU. He was also a national player at the Ball Badminton Federation of India. A prominent Islamic preacher in AMU, he was regarded as an Amir (king) by other Muslim students and was regularly promoted by SAMU (Students of AMU).
On 16 May 2023, OpIndia stumbled upon Wajihuddin Ali Khan while covering a story about a dangerous campaign being carried out at AMU by SAMU. The students of Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University floated a platform to find the “right path and purpose of life”. How simple and benign the idea may appear, the sinister plan behind an organisation that has been flourishing in Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia raises serious concerns. ‘Al Haya Min Allah’, an organisation formed in 2019 and runs the ‘Haya’ Program in educational institutes to spread Islam among students, has been operating under the radar, carrying on undeterred with its patriarchal, supremacist, and profoundly communal agenda.
The Haya Campaign was a month-long Dawah campaign that Al Haya Min Allah ran at the university campus that includes an “awareness program” about Islam, workshops, offline and online competitions and Haya Conference at the end.
Under its program, the organisation talks extensively against democracy. For example, in a post from February 2020, they said, “Rule is for Allah, the Highest, the Almighty, and it is not permissible to give legislative rights to any human being, no matter who he is.” In simple words, the organisation is against the democratic system and wants Sharia (The rule of Allah) to be implemented.
In a post from February 2020, the organisation called nationalism a “ridiculous ideology” as it binds people to a piece of land. The post read, “Nationalism forces people inside one walled piece of land to have brotherhood for one another and espouse enmity against those on the other side of the wall whom he/she has never met.”
In a post from March 2020, the organisation said that the Quran is the Constitution for Muslims and no human has the right to decide what is lawful and what is unlawful. It further talked about Taghoot, a person who has attained extreme in ‘kufr’. Taghoot ” misleads others, that he calls others to his own worship or obedience or following, against the sole rights of Allah,” it added.
They asked their fellow Muslims to reject Taghoot and its followers. It read, “This means one has to identify the rapids, the Jews, the Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, atheists – all as kafir; otherwise, he is not a Muslim himself. If a person cannot distinguish between a mushrik and a Muslim, then he doesn’t know what Islam is! How can a person who doesn’t know Islam bring Eeman (Iman) on it?”
While promoting Sharia, rejecting nationalism and asking Muslims to consider Hindus and Jews as ‘Kafirs’, the group also promoted Hijab and campaigned against Hindus festivals.
The Facebook profile of Al Haya Min Allah has now been disabled. The full report on this campaign can be read here.
While following this group, we also came across Wajihuddin Ali Khan.
Wajihuddin Ali Khan was an Islamic preacher associated with the Al Haya Min Allah campaign and group and used to preach ‘Haya’ extensively. In our report, we discovered how he used to go from place to place at AMU with a portable mic and talk about following Islamic principles. In fact, one of Wajihuddin’s speeches was shared by Students of AMU on its page during anti-CAA protests. The speech was given during Jinnah’s poster row before anti-CAA protests. SAMU said it was relevant during those protests as well. Wajihuddin was extensively active during anti-CAA protests.
Interestingly, he had also extended support to PFI and Sharjeel Imam.
In his post, he had written: “Sharjeel Imam had said, ‘From day one, this Constitution is fascist’. I agree with his statement. But why? What can you expect from something that was built on the foundation of Kufr? You have to understand PFI. The Constitution is the biggest Chariot of Kufr that all the political parties and organisations are pulling. If we remove these organisations (RSS etc.), others will pull this Chariot. If this Chariot is the Chariot of justice in your eyes, then why look at the other? Tomorrow, you will pull this Chariot and become part of the injustice. Wouldn’t you?”
Connection between Wajihuddin Ali Khan and Arshad Warsi – both arrested for being ISIS terrorists
Wajihuddin Ali Khan had extended his support to Sharjeel Imam on his Facebook profile. As of now, Wajihuddin’s Facebook profile stands either locked or suspended.
However, there is a deeper connection between Wajihuddin Ali Khan and Arshad Warsi.
Arshad Warsi has on multiple occassions hailed Wajihuddin Ali Khan as the “amir” (king).
On the 6th of December, Arshad Warsi posted a video of Wajihuddin Ali Khan speech at AMU. He hailed Khan and SAMU.
In the video, Wajihuddin was scaremongering about how Namaz was being stopped and Muslims were not being allowed to talk about the Quran and Sunnat. It is pertinent to note that this video is from the 6th of December 2019. On the 6th of December, an event to mark the Babri demolition was held at AMU. Anti-Hindu slogans were also reportedly raised. Muslim students had cried persecution after 2 students were booked for their posts.
Unsurprisingly, it was China-funded NewsClick, Left portal Scroll, Wire etc that came to the defence of the demonstration by SAMU – in which Wajihuddin made a speech – shared by Arshad Warsi – both now arrested for being ISIS terrorists.
On the 4th of May 2019 too, Arshad Warsi had hailed Wajihuddin.
The speech that Warsi talks about cannot be accessed because Wajihuddin’s Facebook profile is no longer accessible, however, Warsi endorses his view, also articulated by the Al Haya Min Allah group, that all Hindus and Jews must be treated as Kafirs.
Arshad Warsi and Wajahuddin were connected far earlier than the anti-CAA protest. In 2018, Warsi posted on Facebook that Wajahuddin’s Facebook ID had been blocked after his Jumma sermon while protesting against “RSS terrorism”.
It is pertinent to remember that in 2018, a controversy over Jinnah’s portrait had erupted at AMU. In May 2018, after a portrait of Jinnah was found at AMU, some students protested against the divisive Islamist being hailed. The Muslim students, who supported the portrait clashed with other students opposed to it. In May 2018, Muslim students of AMU also raised objectionable Azadi slogans.
Wajihuddin Ali Khan was also holding weekly Dawah meetings inside AMU on a regular basis for many years. Here is a post from 2018.
From these posts, it is evident that Wajihuddin Ali Khan and Arshad Warsi were close for several years, at least since 2018. They have both been arrested for being ISIS terrorists. It is also pertinent to note that Arshad Warsi and Wajihuddin were closely involved in the anti-CAA protests that were taking place in Jamia and AMU at the time.
Wajihuddin Ali Khan, Arshad Warsi and the Delhi anti-Hindu riots connection
As discussed above in great detail, Arshad Warsi was intimately in touch with Sharjeel Imam during the early phases of the Delhi violence. Above, we had evidenced how Arshad Warsi shared a video of Wajihuddin Ali Khan on the 6th of December 2019. This is when the conspiracy of the Delhi violence had already taken seed and Arshad Warsi was intimately in touch with Sharjeel Imam. From Arshad Warsi’s post, it is evident that he was not merely praising Wajihuddin but was also connected with him on a personal level.
For example, on the 7th of December 2019, Sharjeel Imam said that he would be joining the protests called by United Against Hate. This fact was revealed by his WhatsApp conversation with Arshad Warsi. While joining a protest is not wrong in itself, here is the clincher – on the 7th of December, Sharjeel Imam categorically said that he was planning something big in the next week and for that purpose, he would mobilise students from DU, AMU etc with the help of MSJ members.
Subsequently, Arshad Warsi put up the minutes of the meeting that was held at the Tefla Dhaba between the core committee members of the MSJ group. The aim of the meeting was rather simple – to make the UAH rally a resounding success and also, to ensure that both Muslim and non-Muslim students turn up at the protest.
It is important to note that it was the following week that the Jamia riots took place and violence broke out in several parts of Delhi and even Uttar Pradesh.
The violence began on the 15th of December when Muslim mobs rampaged through the national capital. Amanatullah Khan, a prominent MLA of the Aam Aadmi Party, and Delhi’s Sunni Waqf Board chief was spotted leading the riots in Jamia Nagar. Chants of ‘Hinduon se Azadi’ were raised in the same area that very day. Buses were also set on fire during those violent protests. On the same night, the Delhi Police cracked down on the Jamia Milia Islamia University and entered the campus to flush out the miscreants.
Two days later, massive riots broke out in Seelampur. Delhi turned into a war zone. A school bus was attacked and set on fire as well. The mob taunted the policemen to run after them following which stones were pelted.
Interestingly, on the 8th of December, an underground meeting had taken place where Sharjeel Imam, Yogendra Yadav and others were present.
It was in this meeting, that according to the chargesheet, a plan was hatched on how to implement the Chakka Jam. It was decided that it would be Sharjeel Imam who would organise and lead students from various universities and colleges in and around Delhi.
The fact that this meeting took place was also confirmed by the chats that were discovered between Sharjeel Imam and Arshad Warsi.
On the same day, a WhatsApp group was formed called the ‘CAB TEAM’. The core members of the team were following:
- Yogendra Yadav
- Umar Khalid
- Sharjeel Imam
- Nadeem Khan
- Parvej Alam etc.
Thereafter, there was a spate of violence almost on a daily basis leading right up to the Delhi anti-Hindu riots 2020.
How it all ties together, proving the ISIS angle to Delhi anti-Hindu riots yet again
With multiple angles emerging, it has now been proven yet against that there was a definitive ISIS angle to the Delhi anti-Hindu violence – a conspiracy that took seed on the 5th of December 2019 and culminated into planned violence against Hindus in February 2023.
Following is a summary of what we know so far:
- On the 3rd of October, NIA arrested three ISIS terrorists – Shahnawaz Alam (31), a resident of Hazaribagh in Jharkhand; Mohammad Rizwan Ashraf (28) from Lucknow; and Mohammad Arshad Warsi from Garhwa district in Jharkhand
- UP ATS has said that Shahnawaz and Rizwan were closely associated with SAMU (Students of AMU group) and were recruiting for ISIS in that group.
- Thee three – Shahnawaz, Rizwan and Arshad Warsi were planning terror attacks in Ayodhya, Akshardham Temple and Chabar House.
- Arshad Warsi holds a BTech degree from Aligarh Muslim University and is presently enrolled in a PhD program at Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), where he specialises in ‘Islamic Principles in Management’. He is therefore connected to both JMI and AMU.
- Arshad Warsi is intimately connected to the mastermind of the Pune module – Shahnawaz – because it was Warsi who had given shelter to Shahnawaz when the police placed a bounty on his head.
- Arshad Warsi was intimately connected to Sharjeel Imam – one of the masterminds of the Delhi anti-Hindu riots.
- In the Delhi Riots chargesheet, the Whatsapp chats between Sharjeel Imam and Arshad Warsi have been included.
- Sharjeel Imam and Arshad Warsi were connected since the 5th of December when protests against CAA were being planned. It was in these chats with Warsi that Imam had spoken about “doing something big” – essentially – creating violence.
- It was on the 6th of December that Arshad Warsi had hailed Wajihuddin Ali Khan and SAMU on Facebook. It was the anniversary of the Babri demolition.
- The pamphlets that were being printed by Sharjeel Imam and Arshad Warsi also had communal messages about Islam and Babri.
- On the 7th of December 2019 too, Arshad Warsi (who hailed Wajihuddin and SAMU) and Sharjeel Imam were closely involved in the planning of the violence.
- It was on the 8th of December that an underground meeting had taken place where Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and Yogendra Yadav were present. In that meeting, it was decided that Sharjeel Imam would organise and lead the Chakka Jam.
- It was soon after that on the 15th of December that violence broke out.
- Ever since, almost on a daily basis, Hindus had come under violence by Islamists – leading up to the Delhi anti-Hindu riots of February 2020.
- Wajihuddin Ali Khan, now arrested for being an ISIS terrorist, was active in AMU up until very recently – OpIndia had covered his association with an AMU group called Al Haya Min Allah in May 2023.
- Wajihuddin Ali Khan had also extended supported to Sharjeel Imam in his Facebook post dated 26th September 2022.
- Arshad Warsi, Wajihuddin Ali Khan and other terrorists had ISIS and Pakistan ISI handlers.
It is evident that there are several tentacles of ISIS in the Delhi anti-Hindu riots case – now, with the arrest of ISIS terrorist Arshad Warsi, the arrest of ISIS terrorist Wajihuddin Ali Khan, their connection and the link to Sharjeel Imam, it becomes imperative that the Delhi Police and NIA investigate the terror angle and the extent of ISIS’ involvement in the 2020 violence that left several Hindus dead.
