LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad arrested two suspected ISIS terrorists, Abdullah Arsalan (26) and Maaz Bin Tariq (25), of Aligarh and brought them to the ATS headquarters in Lucknow for questioning, on Monday.
The duo was allegedly planning terror activities across the state.
Arsalan is a BTech in petroleum chemical engineering from a private university, while Tariq is pursuing a BCom degree through distance learning.
Special DG (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said that both the accused were inspired by ISIS ideology and were taking instructions from their ISIS handlers to carry out terror activities in the state. "They were collecting material and planning some strike," Kumar added.
The ATS recovered propaganda material related to ISIS and Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) from the duo's pen drives.
The ATS said that Arsalan and Tariq's names came to light after the arrest of Shahnawaz Alam and Rizwan Ashraf by the Special Cell of Delhi police. They were associated with the Students of Aligarh Muslim University (SAMU).
"Some members of this students' body are sympathisers of ISIS," the ATS said. Alam and Ashraf were self-radicalized and had disclosed that they were planning attacks in Ayodhya, Delhi's Akshardham, and Chabad House in Mumbai on October 2.
Based on their confession, another member of the team, Rizwan Ashraf, an engineer was held. Ashraf was allegedly in communication with a foreign-based handler and remaining members of the module and had taken a pledge to join ISIS.
"From the memory of the electronic devices recovered from the arrested accused, anti-national ideology and literature of banned ISIS and AQIS were found," the ATS added.
The ATS said that both Arsalan and Tariq were arrested and presented before the local court, where they were sent to 14 days judicial custody. "We have asked the court for a custody remand of the accused so that more information can be obtained regarding the network of the accused through detailed interrogation and their associates can be arrested," a senior ATS officer said.
