Who is Shama Parveen Ansari, the Bengaluru woman linked to Al-Qaeda propaganda?

Shama Parveen Ansari, originally from Jharkhand, was arrested from her Bengaluru residence for allegedly promoting the anti-national ideology of Al-Qaeda.

Shama Parveen Ansari, originally from Jharkhand and currently residing in RT Nagar, Bengaluru, has emerged as a key figure in an ongoing investigation by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) into online radicalisation and the spread of extremist propaganda.

Shama Parveen Ansari, accused of promoting the anti-national propaganda of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), after her arrest by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) from Bengaluru. (PTI)

She was arrested on Tuesday from her residence for allegedly promoting the anti-national ideology of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), a banned terrorist organisation. She was brought to Gujarat on Wednesday under transit remand.

According to officials, Ansari was using digital platforms to circulate content that called for an “armed revolution or jihad” against the Government of India.

Her activities, authorities claim, were not limited to ideological endorsement, she was actively using social media to spread inflammatory messages designed to create religious discord and incite violence.

An official release from the ATS stated that Ansari managed two Facebook pages and one Instagram account, collectively followed by over 10,000 users. Through these platforms, she is alleged to have shared content linked to AQIS and other radical preachers, news agency PTI reported.

This included speeches and videos by AQIS leader Maulana Asim Umar, slain Al-Qaeda ideologue Anwar al-Awlaki, and Maulana Abdul Aziz of Lahore’s Lal Masjid. The material promoted themes such as Ghazwa-e-Hind, called for attacks on “non-believers” or kafirs, and advocated for the overthrow of the Indian government.

Investigators also found that Ansari had maintained contact with Pakistani entities via phone and email. Her role in the dissemination of extremist material came to light during a separate ATS operation earlier in July.

On July 23, Gujarat ATS had arrested four men from Delhi, Noida, Ahmedabad, and Modasa for allegedly sharing radical and jihadi propaganda videos from AQIS on their social media accounts. The ATS said these videos aimed to incite Indian Muslim youth to reject the country’s democratic system and instead impose sharia (Islamic law) through armed rebellion.

Among the four arrested was Mohammad Faiq, a resident of Delhi, who had shared provocative videos calling for jihad and terror attacks in India. It was later revealed that Faiq had sourced this content from three social media accounts, two Facebook pages and one Instagram handle, which, according to investigators, were operated by Shama Parveen Ansari.

Following this discovery, a Gujarat ATS team, with the support of central agencies and state police, moved to apprehend Ansari in Bengaluru.

The ATS is now investigating the extent of Ansari’s influence, her network of contacts, and the impact of her digital outreach.

(With PTI inputs)