PATNA: The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the Bihar police on Friday arrested a suspected operative of a Pakistan-based arms dealer from Muzaffarpur in north Bihar. The police said that the accused was involved in anti-national activities through social media platforms and encrypted messaging apps. Mustafa’s father Mohammad Sagir has also been detained for interrogation.
Acting on intelligence inputs, a team of ATS officials swooped down at Ratanpur village in Muzaffarpur district and arrested Mohammad Mustafa. He is accused of being in constant touch with the Pakistan-based terror handler Mohammad Shahzad Bhatti and his associates. The probe agency recovered deleted chats and photos from his mobile phone.
Videos of important locations, considered to be sensitive from security point of view, and other digital material were recovered from Mustafa’s phone, which also carried evidence of information related to India’s internal security being shared with a Pakistani terror group.
The ATS found that exact geo-locations of places within India had been shared with the terror group. An officer said, “Information regarding Mustafa’s travel history and use of digital devices has been found and is being collected.”
Sources said that the police are ascertaining if Mustafa has received any foreign funds.
Intelligence agencies have identified Bhatti as a Pakistan-based underworld figure, who operates a sophisticated criminal network with ties to Pakistan spy agencies Inter Services Intelligence.