The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Friday claimed to have busted a Pakistan-linked sabotage and espionage module and arrested four persons allegedly working at the behest of handlers across the border to spread terror and disrupt public order in the state.
The accused were allegedly tasked with conducting reconnaissance of prominent institutions, vehicles and railway signal boxes, and carrying out arson to create panic and damage public property, according to an official press note issued by the ATS.
Those arrested were identified as Saqib alias Javed, 25, and Arbaaz, 20, both residents of Parikshitgarh in Meerut, and Vikas Gehlot alias Ronak, 27, and Lokesh alias Pappu Pandit alias Babu alias Sonu,19, both from Chhapraula in Gautam Buddh Nagar.
ATS officials said the group had allegedly been in continuous contact with Pakistani handlers through social media platforms such as Telegram, Signal and Instagram, as well as foreign phone numbers and multiple WhatsApp groups. The handlers reportedly shared Google locations of sensitive sites, based on which the accused carried out reconnaissance and sent back videos and photographs.
Investigators said the module’s objective was to target railway signal boxes, vehicles carrying gas cylinders and other public assets through acts of arson to create an atmosphere of fear and unrest. Small fire incidents had allegedly been carried out earlier, and videos of these were sent to handlers in Pakistan.
Officials said the accused were intercepted before they could execute a plan to set fire to a railway signal box near Kharkhauda railway station in Meerut on Thursday. During searches, the ATS recovered a can of inflammable liquid, seven smartphones, 24 pamphlets and an Aadhaar card from their possession.
The ATS said the accused were allegedly paid through QR code-based transactions for each task. The probe also revealed that the handlers used provocative and communally sensitive messaging on social media to radicalise the group and encourage anti-national activities.
A case has been registered at the ATS police station in Lucknow under sections 148 and 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with relevant provisions of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1967. Further investigation is underway to trace the wider network and possible links to previous sabotage attempts, officials said.
