UP ATS Arrests Coimbatore Youth in Al-Qaeda-Linked Terror Conspiracy Case

The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad has arrested a 19-year-old man from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu over his alleged role in a conspiracy to carry out violent jihadist activities, officials said on Wednesday. The youth, identified as Maqsood Ali, was taken into custody on Monday with assistance from the Tamil Nadu ATS.

He is the second person held in the case. Mohammad Nabeel, a resident of the Didarganj area of Azamgarh district, was arrested on September 12. Ali's alleged involvement surfaced during Nabeel's questioning, the agency said.

According to the ATS, the two were part of a conspiracy to carry out violent jihadist activities against India. The agency said it had received intelligence that individuals influenced by the ideology of al-Qaeda operative Anwar al-Awlaki were creating groups on social media platforms to plan anti-national activities, and were attempting to recruit young people through WhatsApp groups with plans to turn them into "mujahideen", provide them funds and train them in the use of sophisticated weapons.

After verifying the intelligence, the ATS registered a case under Sections 152 and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, along with Sections 18 and 38 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

Investigators allege that Ali was in contact with Pakistani hackers and was attempting to develop hacking tools. During questioning, he is said to have told the agency that he had learnt Python, Java, coding and hacking through online resources and had developed a secure application called "CAPTAIN M NETWORK". The ATS alleged that Nabeel, Ali and others were connected through this application.

Ali was using two WhatsApp accounts and was associated with several groups, including some linked to Pakistani numbers allegedly belonging to hackers, the agency said. Discussions on developing secure messaging applications were held on these groups, which were also used to circulate jihadist and extremist material, it added.

He was also associated with a WhatsApp group created by Nabeel in which literature linked to the banned terrorist organisation Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent and videos on bomb-making were allegedly shared, according to the ATS.

Ali was brought to Lucknow on transit remand and produced before a competent court, where further legal proceedings were underway.