p Based on technical intelligence and disclosures made during interrogation of primary suspect Mohammad Faraz, another key suspect, Haji Azhar was arrested from Dhar district.

 

p Coordinated raids span Bhopal, Dhar, Saharanpur and Haryana as agencies expose cross-border radicalisation ring targeting local youth via social media.

 

 

Madhya Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad has intensified its crackdown on anti-national networks by arresting another key suspect, Haji Azhar, from Dhar district. Simultaneously, counter-terrorism officials have detained a suspect for questioning in Nuh, Haryana, as the investigation expands into a multi-state terror module. Investigators revealed that the network operates under the direction of a Pakistani handler based in Saudi Arabia, who utilises secure social media platforms to radicalize youth, propagate extremist ideologies, and recruit operatives for targeted hostile activities. The arrest of Haji Azhar was executed based on technical intelligence and disclosures made during the interrogation of the primary suspect, Mohammad Faraz. During the raids in Dhar, security personnel seized mobile phones, digital storage devices, and extremist literature from Azhar’s possession. The seized materials have been sent for urgent forensic evaluation to decode encrypted files, map out his communication network, and ascertain his precise role and financial transactions within the module.

 

 

Technical intelligence gathered by federal agencies indicates that the Pakistani handler, operating from Saudi Arabia, targeted vulnerable youth across Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana through closed chat groups. Recruits were systematically trained in hardline ideology and instructed to procure passports to facilitate transit to third countries for combat training. The ongoing probe suggests the network sought to undermine democratic governance and establish a parallel administrative framework.

 

 

Initial investigations showed that Bhopal-based suspect, Mohammad Faraz, was introduced to the Pakistani handler five to six years ago by Naeem Abdullah, a resident of Deoband in Saharanpur. Following this introduction, Faraz became highly active on encrypted Telegram and WhatsApp channels, seeking to radicalize local youth on behalf of his overseas handlers. The ATS is working closely with police departments in UP and Haryana to neutralise the remainder of this active network.

 

 

Following the arrest of Mohammad Faraz near Nanhe B Mosque in Kazi Camp, his family residence in Congress Nagar was found locked, with neighbours reporting that the family left the premises on Saturday morning. Inquiries revealed that the family was facing severe financial distress; his father, Mohammad Firoz, is currently unemployed, while Faraz worked as a local clinic compounder. His wife supported their three-year-old daughter by conducting home tuitions.