On Wednesday evening, the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) arrested a 24-year-old Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) student, Faizan Bakhtyar, from Aligarh.
The Police accused Bakhtyar of “radicalizing” youth by promoting ISIS ideology with the aim of establishing “Islamic rule” in the country.
This marks the eighth arrest in connection with this case since November 2023.
The arrest followed the identification of Bakhtyar’s involvement after Abdullah Arslan, Maaz bin Tariq, and Wajihudeen were apprehended, all linked to the same self-radicalized group.
Bakhtyar, pursuing a Master of Social Work at AMU, was allegedly part of an ISIS module within the university, planning major terror incidents.
The ATS claims the group, associated with Students of Aligarh Muslim University, operated in a closed circle, recruiting former university students into the terror network.
The crackdown revealed propaganda material related to ISIS and Al Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent, with the group suspected of receiving instructions from ISIS handlers for carrying out terror activities in the state.
This action is part of ongoing efforts to dismantle the self-radicalized ISIS operative network associated with AMU, Police claimed.