Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Sunday arrested a third suspect in connection with an inter-state radicalisation network allegedly being operated by a Pakistan-based handler through encrypted messaging platforms.
Mohd Shakir, 34, was arrested near the Rajasthan-Haryana border in a joint operation by the MP ATS and Rajasthan Police. His arrest comes two days after Nayeem Abdullah Qureshi, 38, was apprehended from Nanauta in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur district and a day after Bhopal resident Mohd Faraz, 35, was arrested from the city's Qazi Camp area.
The suspects were allegedly part of a closed online network operating through WhatsApp and Telegram. Investigators claim the network was involved in radicalising individuals and grooming them for potential "lone wolf"-style attacks, an ATS official said.
Another suspect has been identified, and search operations are underway in another state to track him down, a source said.
ATS officials alleged that Faraz, a graduate employed at a private homeopathic clinic, had planned to travel to Afghanistan for weapons and terror training after obtaining a passport. Investigators also claim he had been assigned the alias "Khalid Saifullah" by the alleged handlers.
Faraz and Qureshi have been remanded in ATS custody until June 16, and Shakir till June 20.
