Lucknow: A widening terror investigation in Uttar Pradesh has brought Kashmir-linked private security agencies and a Deoband-based organisation under the scanner, after evidence emerged suggesting that several meat companies across the state hired these agencies on the organisation’s recommendation. The same organisation reportedly received crores of rupees in donations from meat exporters, raising suspicions of a deeper network with links to extremist groups behind the recent Delhi blast.
Investigators say the trail first appeared in Income Tax department findings, which flagged the unusual presence of Kashmir-origin security firms in UP’s meat industry and hinted at a coordinated conspiracy. But no agency acted on the alert until the recent terror activity prompted the ATS to launch a state-wide verification drive.
The ATS is now preparing to get the employee records of these security firms verified by Jammu and Kashmir Police. Data collected from meat companies will be used to check the criminal background and identity of personnel deployed across facilities. Officials say the Deoband-based organisation that allegedly facilitated the contracts has a history of appearing in Kashmir-linked intelligence inputs.
A diary recovered from arrested Saharanpur resident Dr Adil has raised further alarms. It contains 25 phone numbers believed to belong to Kashmiri students studying in the region. Some entries include coded references and specific locations, suggesting a coordinated network. Agencies suspect Adil was attempting to influence Kashmiri students in madrasas, medical colleges and Darul Uloom. He also allegedly tried to indoctrinate some patients visiting him at the hospital.
In Saharanpur, intense raids have been carried out by the ATS, IB and local police. Authorities have gathered details of students living in rented rooms, hostels and madrasas, and are scrutinising their call records and online activities. Police in Deoband have also launched a tenant verification drive, questioning occupants in more than 100 houses and checking their documents and mobile numbers.
Alongside this, the ATS has intensified operations in Lucknow based on leads from the NIA and IB investigating the Delhi blast. Raids have taken place in Lalbagh’s Khandari Bazaar, IIM Road, a hotel in Charbagh, Para and Gomtinagar. These searches focus on contacts recovered from the mobile phone of arrested suspects Dr Shahin and her brother Dr Parvez, who are alleged members of a Jaish-e-Mohammed module. Thirteen people who recently met them have been detained, and their call records and travel details are being examined to determine their role. So far, investigators have not found evidence linking these individuals directly to the Kashmiri doctor network involved in the blast.
Hotel staff in Charbagh were questioned about people who allegedly stayed there at Dr Shahin’s request. Investigators believe she could not have arranged accommodation for her associates without local support. Several persons remain under questioning as staff have not provided substantial information.
The investigation has also revealed that Dr Umar, Dr Mujammil and Dr Shahin used a Signal app group to coordinate activities. Discussions on the group included the purchase of explosives and the handling of nearly twenty lakh rupees.
The ATS believes the group used encrypted communication to evade surveillance.
Dr Shahin’s two-year stay in the UAE between 2016 and 2018 has become a key point of interest. Agencies suspect she was trained by the women’s wing of Jaish-e-Mohammed during this period.
Shahin travelled to Lucknow two months before the Delhi blast and also visited Ayodhya. CCTV footage shows she conducted reconnaissance in a defence area in Kanpur.