ISI spy ring planning terror strike in Delhi busted; Pakistan-backed agent among 2 arrested

Indian intelligence agencies have dismantled an espionage network linked to Pakistan's ISI, thwarting a chilling terror plot aimed at the national capital. The three-month-long operation resulted in the arrest of two key operatives—including a Pakistani spy embedded in the country.

According to a report by Times of India (TOI), among those nabbed was Ansarul Miya Ansari, a seasoned ISI asset tasked with unearthing sensitive military intelligence. Sources revealed that the operation not only neutralized an imminent threat but also unearthed possible links to officials within the Pakistani High Commission in Delhi. ISI officers Muzammil and Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, allegedly involved in grooming Indian YouTubers and social media influencers, are now under intense scrutiny.

Terror plot foiled

The operation emerged in January through a faint intelligence tip: an ISI mole was on his way to Delhi via Nepal with orders to collect classified materials—documents, photographs, and geolocation data—to orchestrate a terror strike. 

Mid-February, the suspect had reached Delhi and had already gathered secret military documents, sources said. The trap was sprung on February 15, when Ansari was intercepted in central Delhi en route to Nepal—his mission nearly complete but fatefully foiled. He was found in possession of confidential documents, allegedly meant for his Pakistani handlers.

Sources called the operation a textbook example of counter-intelligence precision. “Our men were making efforts to collect information about Pak-backed terror outfits active in different parts of India and sleeper cells providing logistic support to them. After some grenade attacks outside police establishments in Punjab were carried out by ISI-backed terrorist outfit Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), the agency suspected a larger plot to threaten public safety in north-western India,” said the source.

“In view of this, proactive steps were taken to prevent any such planning of terror attack in Delhi-NCR. Sources were activated which culminated in the tip about this suspect's travel plans.”

2 in custody

Following his arrest, Ansari was handed over to the police and booked under the Officials Secrets Act for espionage and attempted transfer of sensitive data to a foreign intelligence agency. As investigators dug deeper, another name surfaced—Akhlaque Azam from Ranchi, who had been aiding Ansari’s movements and operations within India. Azam was apprehended in March.

The duo’s digital footprints revealed a dark undercurrent of encrypted conversations, strategic planning, and veiled instructions from Pakistani handlers—clear signs of a broader conspiracy. A chargesheet has now been filed against the two, as sleuths continue to trace the remaining threads of the network.

A native of Nepal, Ansari had been working as a taxi driver in Qatar since 2008. There, he encountered an ISI agent who first lured him with cash before feeding him a narrative steeped in ideology.

"In June 2024, he visited Pakistan for a month, where he was introduced to high-ranking officials of the Pakistani Army and radicalised by discussing issues like the Babri Masjid demolition and the implementation of CAA/NRC in India. Ansari was also trained in espionage and tasked with procuring secret documents from Delhi," a report filed in court reads.

Both Ansari and Azam are being held in Tihar Jail’s high-security wing under 24x7 surveillance. “We are on high alert to prevent any threats to national security. It may be a cat-and-mouse game, but India's agencies want to be the ones holding the reins,” said a top officer.