Arrested Al-Qaeda operative used Telegram to radicalise J-K youths: NIA

A suspected Al-Qaeda operative, who was arrested from Bengaluru in July, used Telegram channels to provoke gullible youths to wage jihad in Kashmir, the NTA said

A suspected Al-Qaeda operative, who was arrested from Bengaluru in July, used Telegram channels to provoke gullible youths to wage jihad in Kashmir, the National Investigation Agency said, after it took over the probe from police, reported The Economic Times on Monday. 

Akhtar Hussain Lashkar, who hails from Assam, and Abdul Alim Mondal, a resident of West Bengal who was arrested from Tamil Nadu's Salem in July, are the kingpin of the module, the NIA said, reported ET. 

Lashkar and Mondal were reportedly involved in activities relating to radicalisation of youth through social media, NIA investigations revealed. 

"In their social media groups, the duo was trying to incite communal violence by projecting that Indian forces were committing atrocities against Muslims in Kashmir. They allegedly provoked youths to indulge in treason against India," a senior official told ET. 

According to NIA, Lashkar, who worked as a food delivery agent, was affiliated with foreign militant groups and his handlers were operating from Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. The group planned to send radicalised youths from Jammu and Kashmir to Afghanistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Lashkar also had plans to travel to Kashmir, reported ET. 

"Lashkar is involved in provoking youths to wage war against India by projecting that Indian forces are committing atrocities on Muslims in Kashmir," reported ET, quoting the FIR.

Mondal, the second suspect who was arrested from Bengal, kept his online identity as Md Juba. The NIA said it has seized a laptop that contained propaganda material, sim cards, mobile phone, and bank account details from Juba's possession, reported ET. 

"He was in contact with terror outfits and was trying to recruit more youth from Tamil Nadu," another official told ET. The NTA has invoked the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act UAPA  against the two accused, based on the order from the Ministry of Home Affairs.