NEW DELHI: The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Wednesday arrested four individuals for alleged links to al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), following a coordinated intelligence-based operation across multiple locations, officials said.
The accused have been identified as Fardeen Shaikh, resident of Ahmedabad; Mohd Faiq, resident of Delhi; Zeeshan Ali, resident of Noida in Uttar Pradesh; and Saifullah Qureshi, resident of Modasa in Gujarat’s Aravalli district, ANI reported. All four are alleged to have been involved in propagating the ideology of AQIS, a banned terrorist outfit, and promoting content aimed at radicalization and recruitment, officials said.
ATS DIG Sunil Joshi said the operation was launched after Deputy SP Harsh Upadhyay received a tip-off on June 10 about five Instagram accounts promoting al-Qaida ideologies. “The accounts were sharing content on a religious basis, against democracy and India,” he was quoted by ANI as saying.
A technical team was formed to monitor the activity and trace the handlers. “All four were found to be involved. They were kept under surveillance and their physical movements were also found to be suspicious,” he added.
Fardeen Shaikh was found in possession of a sword and literature related to al-Qaida. “We also recovered documents on ‘Operation Sindoor’ from him. The content was anti-Indian government, pro-Pakistani, and inciting in nature,” Joshi said. The group allegedly formed multiple Instagram groups where they circulated jihadi content and pushed for the implementation of Sharia law instead of democracy in India.
Mohd Faiq, officials said, was in contact with several Pakistani Instagram accounts which supplied him with jihadi material. “They were disseminating a lot of content across India. We recovered and analyzed large amounts of data from their phones,” Joshi said.
The FIR has been registered under Sections 13, 18, 38, and 39 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Sections 113, 152, 196, and 68 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Fardeen and Saifullah were produced before a court on Wednesday and sent to 14-day remand. The other two accused, Mohd Faiq and Zeeshan Ali, will be produced in court on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Saifullah’s brother, Ameen, expressed disbelief at the arrest. “I don’t know what he did or didn’t do on his phone. He worked with a furniture company, didn’t study beyond Class 9, and used to leave for work at 9 am and return at 8 pm. Police took him at 9:30 am yesterday, we found out only at 10:30 am. Nobody used to come home to meet him,” he said.
The accused have been identified as Fardeen Shaikh, resident of Ahmedabad; Mohd Faiq, resident of Delhi; Zeeshan Ali, resident of Noida in Uttar Pradesh; and Saifullah Qureshi, resident of Modasa in Gujarat’s Aravalli district, ANI reported. All four are alleged to have been involved in propagating the ideology of AQIS, a banned terrorist outfit, and promoting content aimed at radicalization and recruitment, officials said.
ATS DIG Sunil Joshi said the operation was launched after Deputy SP Harsh Upadhyay received a tip-off on June 10 about five Instagram accounts promoting al-Qaida ideologies. “The accounts were sharing content on a religious basis, against democracy and India,” he was quoted by ANI as saying.
A technical team was formed to monitor the activity and trace the handlers. “All four were found to be involved. They were kept under surveillance and their physical movements were also found to be suspicious,” he added.
Fardeen Shaikh was found in possession of a sword and literature related to al-Qaida. “We also recovered documents on ‘Operation Sindoor’ from him. The content was anti-Indian government, pro-Pakistani, and inciting in nature,” Joshi said. The group allegedly formed multiple Instagram groups where they circulated jihadi content and pushed for the implementation of Sharia law instead of democracy in India.
#WATCH | Gujarat ATS arrested four people with links to AQIS (Al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent). They have been identified as Fardeen Shaikh r/o Ahmedabad, Mohd Faiq r/o Delhi, Zeeshan Ali r/o Noida and Saifullah Qureshi r/o Modasa. Sections of UAPA and BNS invoked in FIR. Two… pic.twitter.com/eqvzSjl1J5
— ANI (@ANI) July 23, 2025
Mohd Faiq, officials said, was in contact with several Pakistani Instagram accounts which supplied him with jihadi material. “They were disseminating a lot of content across India. We recovered and analyzed large amounts of data from their phones,” Joshi said.
The FIR has been registered under Sections 13, 18, 38, and 39 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Sections 113, 152, 196, and 68 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Fardeen and Saifullah were produced before a court on Wednesday and sent to 14-day remand. The other two accused, Mohd Faiq and Zeeshan Ali, will be produced in court on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Saifullah’s brother, Ameen, expressed disbelief at the arrest. “I don’t know what he did or didn’t do on his phone. He worked with a furniture company, didn’t study beyond Class 9, and used to leave for work at 9 am and return at 8 pm. Police took him at 9:30 am yesterday, we found out only at 10:30 am. Nobody used to come home to meet him,” he said.
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