Shabbir Ahmad Lone, the Lashkar-e-Taiba operative arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell for allegedly plotting attacks in India while operating from Bangladesh, had undergone cosmetic procedures in Gurugram in an apparent attempt to alter his appearance, sources said.
Lone, also known by the aliases Raja and Kashmiri, was arrested near the Delhi border by the Special Cell’s NDR unit in coordination with central agencies. A resident of Kangan in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar district, he had been under the radar of security agencies for allegedly running India-focused terror operations from Bangladesh.
His arrest came days after security agencies busted a Lashkar-linked module operating across Delhi and parts of South India. Investigators had claimed the module was involved in putting up anti-India posters at several locations in Delhi and Kolkata, indicating an attempt to combine propaganda activities with operational groundwork.
According to Special Cell sources, Lone had contacted a doctor in Gurugram for a hair transplant procedure and spent nearly Rs 1.5 lakh on the treatment. Investigators said the terror operative was highly conscious about his appearance and was trying to change his look while remaining underground.
Sources added that Lone had also approached a Gurugram-based dentist for treatment aimed at improving his teeth.
Investigators suspect the cosmetic procedures may have been part of an effort to avoid detection while coordinating terror activities and modules linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Officials said Lone was once in direct contact with Lashkar founder and UN-designated terrorist Hafiz Saeed. He had reportedly undergone terror training in Pakistan and was arrested in 2005 when he allegedly came to Delhi to carry out a fidayeen (suicide bombing) attack.
After being released from jail, Lone is believed to have escaped to Bangladesh, from where he allegedly revived Lashkar networks and helped build modules in Delhi and several other states. The Special Cell had earlier busted one such network and arrested several Bangladeshi youths allegedly linked to the operation.
Delhi Police has not yet issued an official detailed statement on the revelations related to the cosmetic treatments.
Source: India Today
