The National Investigation Agency (NIA) carried out raids at multiple locations across three states on Sunday as a part of its investigation into the ‘Ghazwa-e-hind’ terror module that was busted in Bihar last year and found that it was being operated by suspects based out of Pakistan.
An NIA official said that a total of five locations, one in Darbhanga and two in Patna (all Bihar), one in Surat (Gujarat), and one in Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh) were raided.
The official also said that they were able to recover incriminating materials including digital devices like mobile phones, memory cards, SIM cards and documents during the raids.
The official said, “The case came to light after the arrest of Marghoob Ahmad Danish alias Tahir, of Phulwari Sharif by the Bihar Police, which registered a case on July 14, 2022. The NIA took over the case on July 22, 2022. Marghoob was charge sheeted on January 6, under various sections of IPC and UA (P) Act.”
The accused was found to be a member of the module, which was operated by Pakistan-based operatives with the aim to radicalize impressionable youth for the establishment of Ghazwa-e-Hind over Indian territory, the official informed.
Investigations revealed that Marghoob was the admin of a WhatsApp Group ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’, created by a Pakistani national named Zain. He had added many Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Yemeni nationals to the group with the aim of establishing sleeper cells in the country to carry out terrorist acts.
According to the officials, the accused had created several social media handles in the name of ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’ on platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram and BiP Messenger. He had also created a WhatsApp group named ‘BDGhazwa E HindBD’ to add people from Bangladesh to it.
Meanwhile, investigations also revealed that various suspects involved in the case were in contact with Pakistan-based handlers and were involved in spreading the idea of Ghazwa-e-Hind.
Officials said that further investigations in connection with the matter are underway.
