30-Year-Old Woman, Al Qaeda Terror Module Head, Arrested From Bengaluru

A 30-year-old woman has been arrested from Bengaluru for her alleged links with Al Qaeda. Sama Parveen, arrested by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad, is an alleged ‘mastermind of the Al-Qaeda terror module' in India. Parveen's arrest comes days after four terrorists associated with the Al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent were arrested.

Crackdown On Al-Qaeda Module In India

On June 10, Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) Deputy Superintendent of Police Harsh Upadhyay received intelligence that Instagram accounts like "@sharyat_ya_shahadat", "@f4rdeen_03", "@_mujahideen1", "@mujahideen.3", and "@sefullah_muja_hid313" are being used to spread anti-national and provocative messages.

Terrorist content, videos, and ideology of the banned terrorist organisation Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) were being shared from these Instagram accounts, allegedly to provoke Muslim youth of the country and promote violence against the Indian government.

ATS formulated a special investigation team, headed by Superintendent of Police K Siddharth, to crack down on the brains behind the social media accounts. The team identified four operators of the alleged Instagram accounts - Fardeen Sheikh (Fatehwadi, Ahmedabad), Saifullah Qureshi (Modasa, Gujarat), Mohammad Faiq (Chandni Chowk, Delhi), and Zeeshan Ali (Noida, Uttar Pradesh) - and arrested them on July 21 and 22.

What Investigation Revealed

During the investigation, AQIS literature promoting terrorism and a sword were recovered from Fardeen Sheikh. A video of him waving a sword and saying, "Bas yehi kami thi, ab sab pura ho gaya... Allahu Akbar! (This was the only thing left, not everything is complete)" was also recovered from his mobile phone.

Provocative videos, content, messages encouraging religious violence and terrorist attacks and posts in support of Sharia law were found on the mobile and Instagram accounts of all four.

Mohammad Faiq was also in contact with Pakistan's Instagram accounts @gujjar_sab.111 and M Salauddin Siddiqui 1360.

A case has been registered against all four under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The four accused are currently under police remand and are being interrogated.

ATS is also investigating 62 social media accounts.