Overview
- The Bijnor police, which arrested Zulfikar alias Raka and Arif Malik on Friday, say both were drawn into the group through social media links to the viral video.
- Investigators issued lookout notices for alleged handler Aaqib and co-accused Azad, who police say are outside India.
- The case began with a November 23, 2025 Instagram live that showed an AK-style rifle and a grenade and led to charges under India’s new criminal code, the Arms Act and the IT Act.
- The local probe that first called the rifle a toy and the grenade a perfume bottle was reopened after UP ATS arrests in a separate Lucknow railway bomb plot pointed to Aaqib.
- Police say digital forensics is now mapping a wider network as earlier arrestees remain in judicial custody and new claims allege Aaqib coerced Arif by staging gunfire at his home before warning associates to delete files.