Patna: Delhi Police has arrested four alleged “radicalised” men from Maharashtra, Odisha and Bihar, including Mohammad Sohail of Katihar, in connection with a suspected terror module that planned attacks on sensitive locations and attempted to recruit members through encrypted platforms, officials said on Saturday.Sohail, 23, a resident of Nawabganj under Manihari police station in Katihar district, is a key accused in the case. Katihar SP Shikhar Choudhary said a raid was conducted four to five days ago at his residence in coordination with a central agency. “The operation followed specific inputs regarding suspicious activities in the area. During the raid, a cellphone was recovered from the accused’s house. The device was handed over to the central agency for forensic analysis.
Upon examination, suspicious evidence was found on the phone, which led to Sohail’s arrest by Delhi Police in the national capital.”“The accused, a native of Manihari in Katihar district, was not present at his residence during the raid, but he recently visited his home and left his mobile. He was living outside the state for some time, primarily in Hyderabad and Delhi,” Shikhar said, adding intelligence inputs pointed to terror links.
Katihar Police are monitoring his family as part of the probe.Police said an IED and related materials were seized, with two accused assembling a remote-controlled car fitted with explosives. The group allegedly promoted extremist ideology, including “Ghazwa-e-Hind”, and discussed targeting locations such as the Red Fort, Parliament and Ram temple. Investigators said the accused had begun collecting materials, conducting reconnaissance and coordinating their activities through encrypted communication platforms before they were intercepted.Officials said Sohail, a plumber, studied up to Class X. “He was influenced by the speeches of Israr Ahmed. He created multiple social media accounts and exhorted youth in the name of jihad. In March 2026, he incited followers of his channel to collect weapons and explosives for Ghazwa-e-Hind. He shared his bank account/QR code to collect money in the name of jihad,” a police officer said.The other accused have been identified as Mosaib Ahmad from Maharashtra, Mohammad Hammad from Mumbai and Sheikh Imran from Odisha. The special cell arrested two of them from Maharashtra and one each from Odisha and Bihar in a coordinated operation.(With PTI inputs)
