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The family of a man arrested in Uttar Pradesh for alleged ties to Pakistani handlers denies any terror links, claiming he is mentally unstable, as the UP ATS investigates sleeper cells.
Photograph: Jitender Gupta/ANI Photo
Key Points
- Tushar Chauhan and Sameer Khan were arrested in Noida for allegedly planning disruptive acts with Pakistani handlers.
- The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) made the arrests during an investigation into Pakistani sleeper cells.
- Tushar Chauhan’s family claims he is mentally unstable and denies any connection to terrorist organisations.
- Police allege Chauhan confessed to contacting Pakistani gangsters via Instagram and planning attacks.
- Chauhan was allegedly promised financial incentives and travel to Pakistan for carrying out attacks.
The family of a man arrested for allegedly working with Pakistani handlers, including the ISI, said he was “mentally unstable” and has no connection with any terrorist organisation.
However, they added that if he was found to have any links, strictest action should be taken against him and that the family will sever all ties.
Meerut resident Tushar Chauhan alias Hizbullah Ali Khan and Delhi resident Sameer Khan were arrested on Thursday from Noida for acting on the instructions of Pakistani gangsters and radical YouTubers and “planning a major disruptive act”.
The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) made the arrests while investigating the presence of Pakistani sleeper cells created through social media.
Family’s Defence: Mental Instability and Possible Framing
Tushar’s father, Shailendra Chauhan, however, said he spent most of his time on his mobile phone and that he was mentally unstable. He said that the authorities recovered only a mobile phone from his son’s possession, and nothing else.
The family members also said that they were unaware if Tushar had changed his religion or when he adopted the name “Hizbullah”.
The family also said that Tushar was arrested over a religious comment on social media and suspected that someone linked to that case may be trying to frame him in this case.
ATS Investigation and Allegations
On Thursday, ADGP (Law and Order) Amitabh Yash said the ATS had initiated a probe following intelligence inputs regarding sleeper cells created through Instagram and other social media platforms.
During the investigation, it emerged that Pakistani gangster Shahzad Bhatti, Abid Jatt and radical Pakistani YouTubers, allegedly acting on instructions from the ISI, were attempting to radicalise Indian youths and entice them with financial incentives to disturb internal peace and communal harmony, he said in a statement.
“They were encouraging Indian youths to conduct reconnaissance of sensitive locations and carry out terrorist attacks as per their directions. They were also instigating them to target certain individuals who had left Islam, using sophisticated weapons,” he said.
Police said a pistol, five cartridges and a knife were recovered from their possession.
Confession and Planned Attacks
During preliminary interrogation, Tushar allegedly confessed that he had come in contact with Pakistani gangster Shahzad Bhatti and Abid Jatt through Instagram, and later communicated with them via voice and video push-to-talk calls.
To gain Bhatti’s trust, Chauhan allegedly created Instagram accounts in his name, one of which was blocked, after which he made another account and obtained Bhatti’s phone number to establish direct contact, Yash said.
He further said Bhatti had allegedly asked Chauhan to carry out grenade attacks on targeted individuals and assured him that sophisticated weapons would be provided. Chauhan was promised Rs 50,000 in advance and Rs 2.5 lakh after completing the task, along with an offer to facilitate travel to Pakistan via Dubai, the officer added.
According to the ADG, Chauhan also claimed that Bhatti had mentioned that three ISI agents would assign targets.
Chauhan had contacted Sameer through Instagram, and both were allegedly preparing to carry out activities as directed by their handlers, including reconnaissance of targets, Yash said.
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