Pan-India NIA Raids Expose JeM Digital Terror Recruitment Drive, Maharashtra Suspects Under Scrutiny

A day after the National Investigation Agency's (NIA) nationwide crackdown on Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), which executed a pan-India search operation on Saturday, investigations reveal that the Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) is reportedly orchestrating a terror plan against India, with Farahtullah Ghouri spearheading a recruitment campaign for the group.

These raids were conducted based on intelligence inputs stemming from an FIR registered by the NIA in Delhi on September 20.

According to official sources on the condition of anonymity, the JeM has been effectively running an online campaign to recruit disgruntled elements from the Muslim community. Recent investigations revealed that JeM, along with Ghauri, played a leading role in this operation. A pro-Pakistan Telegram channel has been actively inviting Muslim youth from Assam, Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, utilising social media to disseminate terrorist-related propaganda and recruit individuals for lone-wolf attacks and other acts of terror across India.

Ghauri, the absconding terrorist, was found to have asserted through his pro-jihadi chat group that “one day Islam would prevail in India.” He suggested that Muslims should instill in their children a passion for jihad and a desire for martyrdom through these pro-jihadi channels.

In Maharashtra, the NIA detained four individuals from Malegaon, Jalna, and Sambhaji Nagar during an operation on Saturday. After several hours of questioning, which continued late into the evening, they were released due to a lack of evidence. But the NIA has issued notices instructing them to appear before its headquarters in Delhi on October 15. Sources indicate that the suspects were not given a clean chit, and their explanations regarding the chats and online activities suspicions raised against them are currently under verification by the agency.