UP Man, 22, With Links To Pak-Backed Groups, Arrested In Telangana

The Medchal police in Telangana have arrested a 22-year-old man from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, over alleged links with Pakistan-based anti-national elements and suspected online radicalisation activities.

The accused, identified as Zayeed Khan, had reportedly arrived in Hyderabad in February this year in search of employment and was working at a local hotel. Investigators claim he had come in contact through social media with Abid Jatt, an alleged associate of Pakistan-based gangster Shahzad Bhatti, who is under the scanner of Indian security agencies for suspected extremist recruitment and propaganda operations.

According to police sources, Khan was allegedly being motivated to carry out low-level sabotage activities in India, including displaying provocative posters and spreading extremist messaging.

Officials said his online activity had been under surveillance for several weeks before he was taken into custody.

A case was registered at Medchal police station on Monday under Sections 152 and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), relating to conspiracy against the state and criminal conspiracy. He was produced before a court and remanded to judicial custody.

During the operation, police seized a fake firearm along with Khan's mobile phone. Investigators are now examining his Instagram activity, WhatsApp chats, voice recordings, screenshots and other digital evidence to determine the extent of his alleged network and contacts.

The accused was actively following radical social media accounts and had allegedly attempted to establish links with handlers connected to Pakistan's ISI-backed groups and suspects he was exploring ways to procure weapons.

Shahzad Bhatti, originally from Lahore, is suspected to operate parts of his network from Dubai and use social media platforms to recruit vulnerable Indian youth and spread anti-India propaganda. Bhatti's network typically begins contact through social media engagement before shifting conversations to encrypted communication platforms.

Investigators have also linked Bhatti to a recently surfaced outfit identified as "Tehreek-e-Taliban Hindustan (TTH)", which is suspected of attempting to spread extremist messaging in India through online propaganda, graffiti campaigns and local operatives across the country.

Officials said the Medchal arrest is part of a wider nationwide crackdown, with several individuals having been detained in recent months by central agencies and state police forces over alleged links to Pakistan-backed extremist and radicalisation networks.