NEW DELHI: The Central intelligence agencies have identified nearly four dozen individuals believed to be linked to a pan-India online terror radicalisation network that originated in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, sources said on Sunday.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), meanwhile, has so far named 13 individuals, including one foreign handler with alleged links to Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and the Islamic State (ISIS), in its initial probe.
The federal agency has found that 13 individuals were involved in an online terror radicalisation network that spread across six states, with its roots in Vijayawada and extending to Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Delhi, Bellary, Bankura, Patna and Rajasthan. The findings emerged during the investigation into the radicalisation of Mohammad Rehmatullah Sharif, a 23-year-old driver from the Winchpeta locality of Vijayawada. Twelve accused have been arrested, while the hunt for more suspects is under way.
The NIA registered the case on May 13, 2026, on the directions of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The investigation stemmed from a case registered in Vijayawada. On the evening of March 22, 2026, Vijayawada II Town Police arrested Mohammad Rehmatullah Sharif from his residence on Narayanaswamy Street in Winchpeta. Police alleged that he had been radicalised through social media after following accounts linked to banned terrorist organisations. He was allegedly posting videos promoting jihadi content and working towards establishing Caliphate rule in India. Two of his associates, Mohammad Danish of Bhavanipuram and Mirza Sohail Baig of Mahanthipuram in Vijayawada, were also named as active members of the radicalisation network.
After taking over the case, the NIA found that the network operated across India.
The NIA identified 13 accused. They include Shadman Dilkash and Azmanullah Khan from Bihar; Sayeeda Begum from Hyderabad, Telangana; Lucky Ahmed from Delhi; Jishan from Rajasthan; Mir Ashif Ali from Khatra village in Bankura district, West Bengal; Abdul Salaam from Kowl Bazaar, Bellary, Karnataka; Sharuk Khan from Pune, Maharashtra; and Shiak Fiaz Ur Rehman from Vile Parle, Mumbai.
The agency found that the thirteenth accused, Al-Hakim Shukoor, is suspected to be operating from outside India. According to the NIA, Shukoor acted as a foreign handler who contacted Rehmatullah Sharif through social media, allegedly instigated him towards jihad, and directed him to establish contact with cadres affiliated with AQIS and ISIS.
The agency further alleged that Shukoor shared Instagram IDs and mobile numbers of ISIS-affiliated individuals with members of the network.
According to the NIA, no border was crossed and no weapon was shipped. Instead, a smartphone and encrypted social media accounts were allegedly sufficient to build and run a pan-India recruitment and radicalisation network.
The accused are also alleged to have links with a radicalised group called BENX.COM, whose members, according to the complaint in the original Andhra Pradesh Police FIR, were connected to AQIS and ISIS through a chain of contacts passed through the network. The agency is continuing its search for other accused across the country who were allegedly part of the network.