UP ATS arrests suspected Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist from Moradabad

The suspect was planning to carryout major terror activities in India after getting trained in Afghanistan. Officials had been monitoring his online activities for quite sometime.

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) arrested a terror suspect of Hizbul Mujahideen from Moradabad, officials said on Thursday. Ahmad Raza was reportedly planning to go to Afghanistan via Pakistan for commando training and then undertake major terror activities in India.

The ATS has recovered many suspicious pictures and videos from Ahmed's mobile. UP ATS chief Naveen Arora said that Ahmed, a resident of Guladiya village of Mudha Pandey police station area of Moradabad, was in regular contact with a senior members of Hizbul Mujahideen in Pir Panjal Tanjim and a Pakistani handler through social media.

Ahmed was arrested on Wednesday after officials monitored his online activities for sometime. He said that he has got arms training in Srinagar and Anantnag. Several photographs of weapons, screenshots of chats and jihadi videos have been found in his mobile phone gallery.

Arora said during interrogation, Ahmed confessed that he was planning a major terror activity in India. He is influenced by Jihadi ideology and organisations operating in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Arora said. Also, Ahmed aims at ousting the Indian government and setting up Sharia law in India, he said.

Ahmed told ATS that he was in contact with Firdaus, a resident of Anantnag, a senior Mujahid member of the Hizbul Mujahideen Pir Panjal Tanjim. It was Firdaus who got him to join the Hizbul Mujahideen. He had come to Moradabad on the instruction of his handler to instill jihadi ideology and recruit more people in the terror outfit.

Ahmed used to meet people and invite them to join the outfit through social media. He used to post jihadi videos online and instigate people.