COIMBATORE: In a joint operation, anti-terrorism squads (ATS) of Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh arrested a 19-year-old youth from UP in Coimbatore on Sept 14 on charges of attempting to radicalise youth.The youth, identified as Maqsood Ali, son of Abdul Kuthus of Madhwapur in UP’s Siddharthnagar district, was secured from the Hope College area in Coimbatore hours before he was to leave for Bengaluru.Maqsood was arrested based on the information provided by another suspect from Azamgarh, identified as Mohammad Nabeel, who was nabbed on Sept 12.Police said he was part of an online module linked to Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).According to Tamil Nadu ATS, Maqsood had been working for a Bengaluru-based manpower agency run by Safiqul, a native of Bihar. He, along with a few others, arrived in Coimbatore on Sept 7 to work at Codissia Trade Fair Complex and stayed at a hotel near Hope College.Acting on an alert from UP ATS, TN police tracked down Maqsood’s location within an hour and detained him. The Coimbatore ATS team handed him over to the UP ATS who produced him before a local court and took him to Uttar Pradesh on a prisoner transit warrant.Preliminary investigations revealed that he operated an Instagram handle called ‘Muslim Warrior’. The agency said Maqsood developed a secure application called “Captain M Network” with the motto “One Platform, One Motive — Unity, Plan and Action,” which was allegedly used to radicalise youth. He was also said to have operated two WhatsApp accounts and was allegedly linked to groups named “UU Entry Gate”, “United Ummah”, “Gazwa-e-Hind”, “Team Black Hat” and “Lashkar-e-Mehndi”. ATS claimed the groups included Pakistani numbers and carried discussions on secure messaging tools and extremist content.Investigators said around 12 Pakistani nationals were part of the ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’ group. ATS alleged Maqsood, Nabeel and others were part of a conspiracy to carry out violent “jihadist” activities. Investigators alleged Maqsood had come into contact with Pakistani hackers and was attempting to develop hacking tools, having learned Python, Java, coding and hacking skills through online resources including Instagram, YouTube, Telegram and WhatsApp groups.“Maqsood, who studied up to Class IX, was learning coding and artificial intelligence online. We seized his mobile phone. He remained largely uncooperative during questioning,” a senior officer said. While Maqsood claimed he was innocent and merely browsed reels, officials scanned CCTV footage from the hotel and the venue, confirming he did not meet any local contacts.His employer Safiqul, told TOI that he was unaware of Maqsood’s background, having hired him barely ten days earlier through an acquaintance.Investigators said the two suspects were purportedly influenced by the ideology of Al Qaeda-linked preacher Anwar al-Awlaki and used WhatsApp groups to recruit youths. They allegedly planned to train recruits as “mujahids”, including imparting weapons-related training and fundraising, ATS claimed.The agency said the network operated across multiple states and maintained links with foreign contacts. An FIR was registered under sections 152 and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with sections 18 and 38 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
