Overview
- The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad, which arrested two 20-year-olds in Noida on Thursday, says the pair was being groomed online as sleeper operatives.
- Officers reported seizing a pistol, five live cartridges and a knife, and they registered a case under the UAPA, the Arms Act and the new BNS criminal code.
- Police allege contact with Pakistan-based gangsters Shahzad Bhatti and Abid Jatt, with tasks that included reconnaissance of sites and plans for grenade attacks.
- Investigators say the handlers offered cash in advance, a larger payout after any strike and a route to Pakistan via Dubai.
- Tushar Chauhan’s family disputes the allegations and cites his mental illness, while the ATS seeks remand to map the network in a wider crackdown on online radicalisation.