Uttar Pradesh ATS arrests alleged operative linked to Pakistan-backed terror network

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has arrested a man from Azamgarh for allegedly working for a terror network linked to Pakistani gangster Shahzad Bhatti and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), officials said on Monday.

The accused has been identified as Mohammad Sheikh, a resident of Khudadadpur village under Nizamabad police station limits in Azamgarh district, they said.

He was arrested following intelligence inputs about alleged attempts by Pakistan-based handlers to radicalise Indian youths and recruit them for anti-national activities, the officials added.

In a statement, the ATS said it had received intelligence that "Pakistan, in collaboration with the ISI and terrorist organisations, was using the terror network of Pakistani gangster Shahzad Bhatti to connect with Indian youths through social media platforms, radicalise them and use them as sleeper cells for terrorist activities."