A 30-year-old woman, Sama Parveen, has been arrested in Bengaluru by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for allegedly masterminding an Al-Qaeda terror module in India, days after four other suspected operatives linked to the group were held.
Crackdown On Al-Qaeda Module
On June 10, Gujarat ATS Deputy Superintendent of Police Harsh Upadhyay received actionable intelligence indicating that several Instagram accounts—namely “@sharyat_ya_shahadat”, “@f4rdeen_03”, “@_mujahideen1”, “@mujahideen.3”, and “@sefullah_muja_hid313″—were being actively used to disseminate anti-national and inflammatory content.
These accounts were allegedly promoting videos, terrorist propaganda, and extremist ideology linked to the banned terrorist organisation Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), with the apparent objective of radicalising Indian Muslim youth and inciting violence against the Indian state.
In response, ATS constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the leadership of Superintendent of Police K Siddharth to trace the individuals behind these social media handles.
Following a thorough investigation, the team identified and apprehended four individuals believed to be managing these accounts: Fardeen Sheikh from Fatehwadi in Ahmedabad, Saifullah Qureshi from Modasa in Gujarat, Mohammad Faiq from Chandni Chowk in Delhi, and Zeeshan Ali from Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The arrests took place on July 21 and 22.
Investigation Findings
The probe led to the seizure of AQIS literature and a sword from the possession of Fardeen Sheikh.
His mobile phone contained a video in which he is seen brandishing the sword and exclaiming, “Bas yehi kami thi, ab sab pura ho gaya… Allahu Akbar!” (“This was the only thing left, now everything is complete… God is great!”).
Incriminating material—including provocative messages, extremist videos, content endorsing terrorist activities, and posts supporting Sharia law—was uncovered on the phones and Instagram profiles of all four accused.
Further investigation revealed that Mohammad Faiq had established contact with Instagram accounts operated from Pakistan, specifically “@gujjar_sab.111” and “M Salauddin Siddiqui 1360”.
Social Media Accounts Under Watch
All four individuals have been booked under multiple sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and are currently in police custody undergoing interrogation.
In addition to these arrests, the ATS is actively investigating 62 other social media accounts suspected of being linked to similar activities.
(With inputs from IBNS)
