NEW DELHI: Shabbir Ahmed Lone moved like a ghost, yet he left a trail across the spectrum. The heart of the conspiracy pulsed through the blue interface of Telegram, where Lone maintained a steady dialogue with shadows from his past: LeT handlers Asif Dar and Sumama Babar.Once a resident of Sopore and now operating from the safe harbours of Pakistan, Dar pulled the strings from behind the handle @YD_1*7. Lone, on the other hand, changed encrypted chat handles frequently but was of late using a mobile number +8801925853*** to communicate not only with Dar and Babar, but also with his module members. And that mistake did him in.In Feb, the members of his module were arrested and Lone’s confidante, Umar Faruq, ended up providing a trove of information, including the IDs and the number to the agencies, allowing them to perform a “digital handshake”, linking the login timestamps to Lone’s movements.It was a pincer movement executed in virtual space, where every encrypted message sent by Faruq was shadowed by a corresponding surge in data packets that betrayed Lone’s coordinates. As the net tightened, the distance between the operative and the agencies evaporated, eventually allowing them to deploy a ‘HUMINT net’ in which the operative walked in.A resident of Kangan in J&K’s Ganderbal, Lone had completed a two-year Islamic madrasa course from Salafiya Arabic College, Batmalu. Additional CP (special cell) Pramod Kushwaha said in 2004-2005, his locality was frequently visited by LeT terrorists Abu Huzaifa, Abu Bakar and Faisal for food and other logistic support.“Huzaifa recruited him in the LeT cadre and he underwent Daura-e-Aam — basic training in small arms and grenade-throwing for 21 days — besides three-month training (Daura-e-Khas) in handling of AK rifles, rocket launchers, IEDs and LMGs,” Kushwaha said, adding that Lone was also trained in Daura-e-Sufa at the Muzaffarabad LeT camp for brainwashing youths.Lone’s first brush with the law was in 2007 when he was arrested by the special cell following the recovery of a heavy cache of arms, including AK-47 rifles and grenades, for which he was later convicted. In 2016, he was arrested again in a case of possession of illegal arms and ammunition, besides facing action from ED. Lone knew it was time to disappear.“He again came in contact with Huzaifa through encrypted apps and started radicalising and recruiting youths for LeT. Huzaifa introduced him to Pakistan-based LeT commander Sumama Babar,” Kushwaha said. Babar, who has a reward of Rs 3 lakh on him, is responsible for radicalising, motivating and recruiting youth in India, primarily in Kashmir Valley, through different social media apps, according to police.The political turmoil in Bangladesh in 2024 was a turning point. ISI sent Lone to Bangladesh, tasking him to set up a cell there to target India. In March 2025, Lone, along with his wife and family, crossed the Indo-Bangla border and set up a launching pad in Saidpur area of Bangladesh. He also married a local Bangladeshi woman for assimilation. Soon after, Lone started recruiting Bangladeshi and Indian youth from states and UTs other than J&K to carry out terrorist operations in India, said police.During investigation, a team led by DCP Praveen Tripathi and inspectors Sunil Rajain and Dheeraj Mahlawat found that Lone first relocated to Gurgaon, where he recruited Umar Faruq who led the module in the inflammatory posters case. He then started a lookout for Bangladeshi nationals who could be pushed into India and be used in terrorist activities, besides acting as sleeper cells.The module then conducted reconnaissance missions at sensitive locations across the country, including temples and high-footfall public areas. They also transmitted video footage of these missions back to Pakistan, police said.
