20-Year-Old CA Student Arrested in Bhopal for ISIS Links: From Academic Aspirations to Online Radicalization

The arrested individual maintained continuous communication with radical handlers while pursuing his CA studies. (Representational)

Bhopal:

Authorities have arrested a 20-year-old Bhopal resident for suspected connections to an ISIS-inspired terror network. The arrest was conducted by Delhi Police Special Cell with assistance from the Madhya Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).

Police sources reveal that the suspect, who was studying to become a Chartered Accountant (CA), comes from a middle-class background. His father works in accounting, while his mother is a homemaker.

READ: Probe Agency NIA Court Finds 2 Guilty In 2018 Coimbatore ISIS Case

Beneath the ordinary appearance of student life, investigators discovered he was being systematically radicalized online, gradually drawn into ISIS propaganda and extremist ideology through encrypted social media platforms.

Previous Encounter with Authorities

This incident marks his second encounter with law enforcement. Sixteen months earlier, the Uttar Pradesh ATS detained him for sending threatening messages to a judge involved in the Gyanvapi Mosque case—the same judge who had ordered an Archaeological Survey of India examination of the disputed Varanasi site.

Initial investigations indicate the young man participated in multiple Lucknow-based WhatsApp groups connected to ISIS sympathizers.

While pursuing his studies in Bhopal and preparing for CA examinations, he allegedly sustained regular contact with online radical handlers, absorbing their ideology and distributing their content.

READ: Bhopal, Gwalior Ban 'Carbide Guns' After 300 Suffer Eye Injuries On Diwali

Officials believe ISIS-linked recruiters methodically indoctrinated him, exploiting his curiosity and isolation during online interactions.

Authorities have confiscated his phone and laptop, with digital forensic specialists currently analyzing his communications and online activities to identify others connected to the network.

Second ISIS-Related Arrest in the Region

This case becomes particularly concerning as it represents the second ISIS-related arrest in Madhya Pradesh within a month.

Previously, Delhi Police Special Cell apprehended 26-year-old Kamran Qureshi from Biaora town in Rajgarh district, who worked as a legal typist and computer operator at a pathology laboratory.