Suspected Al Qaeda terrorist Abdul Rahman arrested from #Cuttack, will be taken to Delhi on transit remand. pic.twitter.com/rlBVPO1aSI — ANI (@ANI_news) December 16, 2015

Suspected Al Qaeda terrorist Abdul Rahman arrested from #Cuttack (Source: Odisha police) pic.twitter.com/bVXoqeZVhz — ANI (@ANI_news) December 16, 2015

BHUBANESWAR: A joint team of Delhi and Bhubaneswar police arrested a 37-year-old man from Cuttack in the early hours of Wednesday for his alleged link with al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent ( AQIS ), the newest branch of the international terrorist organization.The accused was identified as Abdul Rehman, a resident of Jagatpur area in Cuttack. "The joint team arrested him from his house. The Delhi police will take him on transit remand," said commissioner of police R P Sharma."Prima facie, Delhi police came to know about his link with AQIS. He is also having link with radical groups in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Dubai. He was wanted by the special cell of Delhi police since his provocative speeches in Ranchi a few months back," Sharma told TOI.Police strongly suspected that Rehman was actively involved in recruiting and training young cadres in guise of running a Madrasa in Tangi, nearly 30 km from Cuttack.Police said Rehman’s operations were confined to Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Bangalore where he organized several community meetings and delivered inflammatory speeches."He was a facilitator of AQIS. So far, we have no information about his operations in Odisha. Still, we have kept a surveillance on his family, friends, relatives and Madrasa," Sharma said.Police seized his cell phone, a tablet and passport from his possession. "He is a qualified person. He completed his PhD in Arabic and Islamic studies from a university in Uttar Pradesh. He spent seven years in Uttar Pradesh," Sharma said.Arrest of Rehman sent the police into a tizzy as police for the second time arrested a native of Odisha for having suspected terror link. In January this year, police in Balasore arrested a contractual employee of Integrated Test Range (ITR) off the Odisha coast on the charges of sharing vital strategic information with suspected agents working against Government of India.Currently, NIA has been camping in Odisha for the past few days after the arrest of one Subhash Ramachandran in connection with the burning of empty trains at Puri on November 12. NIA found suspected terror link behind the sabotage act.Odisha government has also reasons to be jittery as two top Indian Mujahideen (IM) operatives had visited Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Puri in January last year."Based on intelligence input, we apprehended Abdul Rehmam Katki, who runs a madrasa in Tangi near Bhubaneswar," Commissioner of police R P Sharma told TOI.Police said Katki had been under surveillance for having delivered provicative speech in Ranchi a few months ago. Sharma is scheduled to hold a press meet in late afternoon.