BHUBANESWAR: Delhi Police on Saturday arrested a 22-year-old youth from Bhubaneswar for his links with a radical group, following a probe that traced online activity across multiple social media platforms.
Police said the youth, identified as Sheik Imran, was an active member of a closed group on social media and had been circulating radical content on religious lines, which was detrimental to national security.
Imran, who was reportedly part of certain closed social media groups, drew the attention of the Special Cell of Delhi Police for posts on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and Signal related to radicalisation.
A week ago, Delhi Police had picked up a group of young boys in the national capital. During interrogation and analysis of their social media posts, a link to Odisha was found.
Acting on the information, Delhi Police, with the help of Bhubaneswar Police, apprehended Imran from the Unit VI area of the city, a statement from the police said.
He was produced before the SDJM Court in Bhubaneswar on the same day and taken on transit remand.
The recent arrests by Delhi Police have suggested that the network followed a phased recruitment process, initially assigning low risk tasks such as logistics, reconnaissance and messaging, before escalating to more serious activities.