Ghaziabad: Police are scanning the mobile phones, chats and social media trails of six men arrested from Nahal village in Masuri under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), alleging they watched, shared and circulated content linked to banned terror outfits and may have been trying to draw the attention of the groups online.The accused — Savez (20), Junaid (23), Fardeen (23), Ikram Ali (36), Fazru (48), and Md Javed (45) — were arrested on Thursday after a tip-off from police’s social media team, DCP (rural) Surendra Nath Tiwari said.According to police, the men followed social media accounts linked to terror outfits Jaish-e-Mohammed and Farhatullah Ghori, and repeatedly watched videos posted by them, including footage portraying atrocities against members of the community. The content, police said, was then forwarded on WhatsApp and other platforms. Police also found the Signal app installed on Savez’s phone.Tiwari said the phones also contained chats, screenshots and videos linked to banned organisations. “They were following pages associated with Jaish-e-Mohammed and other such outfits. Some of the videos had been viewed hundreds of times,” he added.According to cops, the men commented on such posts in an attempt to attract the attention of the outfits and possibly secure entry into them. “They appeared to be working in a coordinated way, sharing material, disturbing communal harmony and engaging in unlawful activity,” the DCP said.During questioning, police said, Savez — a Class 12 pass who worked at a grocery shop — told investigators he had been watching such videos for around a year and a half, and had drawn others into the circle. Among the other accused are an advocate, an LLB student, a madrasa teacher and two labourers.Police said Javed, who ran a madrasa, had a relative who had gone to Pakistan decades ago and joined an outfit there. An FIR was filed against the six men under sections 152 (act endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India); 196 (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, regional groups, castes and communities); and 61 (2) (criminal conspiracy) of BNS besides sections of UAPA.
