LUCKNOW: Two youths of Uttar Pradesh, allegedly working for ISI-based operatives for activities aimed at creating fear and carrying out anti-national tasks, were nabbed by the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of UP police here on Thursday.
As per the ATS sources, the accused were entrusted with conducting surveillance of the Army Cantonment in Lucknow and the Indian Air Force Station at Bamrauli in Prayagraj and sharing information with their handlers. For this task, they were allegedly promised Rs 10,000.
Both the terror operatives -- Mohammad Umar, 19, and Faizan, 21 -- are residents of Akbarpur village in Bulandshahr district of western UP. They have links with a terror-linked network operated by Pakistani gangster Shehzad Bhatti and his associates, said the ATS sources.
Both Umar and Faizan have studied only up to Class V.
According to ATS, the network is backed by Pakistan's intelligence agency, ISI and is attempting to create sleeper cells in India through social media platforms.
Investigators said the two accused came in contact with Pakistani gangsters Shehzad Bhatti, Abid Jatt, Hammad Barkati and Rana Hunain through WhatsApp and Instagram. They were allegedly tasked with carrying out activities designed to spread fear and demonstrate the influence of Pakistan-based criminal-terror networks within India.
During interrogation, the accused allegedly disclosed that they had pasted posters carrying the photograph and name of Pakistani gangster Abid Jatt at several locations in Bulandshahr.
They also recorded videos of the poster-pasting exercise and sent them to their handlers as proof of execution of the task given to them.
ATS officials said the duo had been promised Rs 10,000 for completing the assignment. The agency recovered 55 posters of Abid Jatt, videos of the posters being pasted, and other digital evidence from the accused.
After the interrogation, the operatives revealed that they had allegedly been assigned to do a reconnaissance of sensitive defence installations.
ATS officials said the case highlighted a disturbing pattern in which hostile foreign networks were exploiting less educated youth, coming from economically weaker backgrounds, to indulge in anti-national activities in lieu of easy money for seemingly minor assignments that can gradually escalate into activities posing a threat to national security.
A case has been registered at the ATS Police Station in Lucknow under relevant legal provisions, and further investigation is under way to identify other members of the network.
ATS said that before the latest arrests, five cases had already been registered and 15 accused arrested in connection with the same Pakistan-linked module.