Vijayawada, April 6 – The accused in the Vijayawada terror network case were allegedly working to expand the activities of AQIS and ISIS in India at the direction of foreign handler Al-Hakeem Shukoor, officials said on Monday.
Five accused, including a woman, revealed details of their plans during questioning by the Andhra Pradesh Police and the Counter-Intelligence Cell over the last five days.
Out of the 12 accused arrested in the case, five were questioned by the officials during the five-day police custody that ended on Sunday.
Mohammad Rahamatullah Sharif, 23, Md. Danish, 27, and Mirza Sohail Baig, 23, all residents of Vijayawada, Sayeeda Begum, 38, from Hyderabad, and Abdul Salam from Bellary (Karnataka) have shared details of their alleged plans to carry out terror activities in India.
The accused told the officials that they came into contact with Shukoor through social media.
The accused, who had formed a group called ‘Al-Malik Islamic Youth’, confessed that they had Jihadi tendencies from the beginning, but these got further strengthened after they came in contact with Shukoor.
According to sources, the accused revealed that on his direction, they were trying to expand AQIS and ISIS activities in the country. They were also trying to incite youth to carry out suicide attacks.
Instagram and Telegram groups under the name ‘BENX COM’ were created. Those who wanted to carry out terror attacks and even lay down their lives for ‘jihad’ were allegedly made members of these groups. The accused were said to be in regular touch with these members.
Some Pakistanis were also said to be members of these groups. Shukoor had allegedly told the accused that arms and explosives required for subversive activities in India would be supplied by these members.
On Shukoor’s orders, they were luring youth into terror activities to send them to Pakistan and Afghanistan for training.
The accused told the investigators that they never met Shukoor personally but came to know him through social media.
At his direction, they developed links with Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and ISIS. On his orders, they were working for ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’ and expanding their network.
The accused told officials that they were working with the goal of turning India into an Islamic nation. As part of this, they want to replace the Indian flag with the ISIS flag.
The accused, on the direction of the foreign handler, had also planned a dedicated women’s wing to be headed by Sayeeda Begum.
They had plans to train recruits in sniper rifles, guns, black powder bombs, and IEDs to spread terror in India.
The investigators questioned the accused about what attracted them to Jihadi activities, how they got introduced to foreign handlers, their plans for terror attacks in India and who was behind the ‘BENX COM’ groups.
The police busted the network with the arrest of Rahamatullah Sharif, Danish, and Sohail Baig.
Counter-intelligence cell arrested the accused after keeping a tab on their activities on social media platforms.
Sayeeda Begum was arrested from Hyderabad last month, and the other accused from various other states.
The accused were allegedly attempting to influence and radicalise youth through Instagram, Telegram and other social media to indulge in terrorist activities.
A case was registered against the accused under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), BNS and the Information Technology Act at Vijayawada Two Town Police Station.
The FIR named 12 accused, hailing from various states, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Delhi, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and West Bengal.
The questioning of the remaining seven accused in the case by the police is expected to reveal more information about the alleged terror plans.