The Special Cell of Delhi Police arrested an al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent operative from Mewat, Haryana, and detained two others. The Times of India reported that Sami had been in touch with his handlers to coordinate a terror strike in Delhi ahead of Republic Day. His arrest has led to officials searching for other operatives, and has unearthed the group’s sleeper cell, one that Sami headed. This is the fifth suspect arrested in Delhi this month with links to the terror organisation.

Sami was reportedly trained in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir by the Inter Services Intelligence, and has been trained to handles explosives and weapons. He came to India in 2015 after his training. Police said that he had been in regular contact with with Abdur Rahman, a madarsa school teacher and AQIS operative arrested in Bengaluru in December.

He was produced before a Delhi court on Monday which remanded him to judicial custody till February 1.