Mumbai police arrested Mohammad Hasan Abu Sarmad Akhtar over suspected links to the terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed. The ATS found inflammatory social media posts and audio clips on his phone. Investigators are now probing his alleged contact with Pakistani intelligence operatives to see if he planned to spread the group's ideology.
Investigators are also probing his alleged contact with Pakistani intelligence operatives, news agency ANI reported.
The accused has been identified as Mohammad Hasan Abu Sarmad Akhtar. According to the ATS, an examination of his mobile phone revealed inflammatory social media posts and audio clips featuring JeM chief Masood Azhar.
The case came to light through his social media activity and a Telegram group.
The Kalachowki unit of the ATS has registered a case against the accused under Section 196(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
In a statement, the Gujarat ATS said the suspects were working to establish an active network of the outfit in Gujarat, recruit members and spread its ideology. They were allegedly contacting people across India through various mediums to radicalise them, carry out Dawat (inviting people to join the outfit) and establish an active JeM network in the state.
The ATS also alleged that the suspects had formed an organisation called “Darul Islam Gujarat Jaish-e-Mohammed” as part of the conspiracy.
According to the agency, they were in contact with Pakistan-based handlers identified as Abdullah and Mohammad Umar, had translated JeM literature from Urdu into Gujarati to propagate its ideology, and had actively participated in a conspiracy to carry out terrorist acts in Gujarat.