The terror module whose alleged members were arrested from Hatiara, New Town, on February 15 had made elaborate arrangements to validate their stay in Bengal while allegedly planning an operation, police sources said.

Umar Faruk, a suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative originally from Malda and one of two men arrested by the Delhi Police special cell in Hatiara, had allegedly rented a single-storey building as a shelter for operatives posing as labourers at a garment manufacturing unit.

One of the labourers, later identified as a Bangladeshi national, Robiul Islam, was also arrested with Faruk. Delhi Police said Islam hailed from Thakurgaon in Bangladesh and had obtained a purported Aadhaar card that said he was a resident of Krishnabati village in Uttar Dinajpur, which was submitted to the landlord.

“Investigations revealed that Umar Faruk contacted the building’s owner in Hatiara, presenting himself as the manager of a garments manufacturing unit named M/S Shova Dresses. He rented the building, saying his labourers would stay there and submitted identity documents for them,” said a Delhi Police officer.

Police sources said Faruk had submitted Aadhaar cards for at least two other men he presented as labourers, who are currently being traced. To gain the landlord’s confidence, Faruk also submitted a purported trade license issued by the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation in the name of Jahangir Alam and claimed that his company, Hosja Technology Private Limited, was planning to start a garments business in a third-floor apartment at Prafulla Kanan.

Police verification revealed the unit at Prafulla Kanan had been shut for a few days, and Jahangir Alam’s phone was switched off. “We will interrogate him,” an officer said.

Faruk and Islam were arrested for their alleged involvement in a LeT module led by operative Shabbir Ahmad Lone. “Lone met Faruk in Malda a few years ago, recruited him, gave him PDF files of anti-India posters which he later printed, and provided ₹1 lakh to buy arms,” an officer said.

Phone contents of Faruk and Islam revealed clues about more suspects in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, leading to six more arrests.

“Some videos found indicated attempts to buy weapons. Police suspect these men were planning a major attack in various parts of the country... On February 7, anti-national posters were pasted at Kashmiri Gate Metro station and nearby stations in Delhi. The CISF noticed this and alerted Delhi Police, prompting the operation in Calcutta,” the officer said.