Cops checking social media of man held in ‘terror links’ case

A 22-year-old man from Odisha was arrested for sharing anti-national posts online, with ties to terror organizations, under investigation by Delhi Police.

Days after a 22-year-old man was arrested from Odisha’s Bhubaneswar on suspicion of links with terrorist organisations and involvement in circulating radical content online, the Delhi Police Special Cell said they found that he had shared two-three posts on social media in the last few months which were “anti-national”.

Cops checking social media of man held in ‘terror links’ case

The 22 year old man, identified as Sheikh Imran, works as a delivery executive and is now being probed by Odisha Special Task Force and Delhi Police Special Cell on terror charges.

A senior police officer said “As per our investigation, he has been working as a delivery executive in Bhubaneswar but was in Delhi a few months back. He only came back to his hometown when he found out about the terror arrests happening in other states. In the last few years, he has come to Delhi multiple times to meet his associates. We have found that he was posting anti India slogans and content on social media”

Police arrested Imran from his rented accommodation in the Ganga Nagar locality on Friday with the help of Odisha Police.

Investigators in Delhi said they have got Imran’s custody and have been questioning him.

“He was mainly in touch with three associates, including a woman, who shared online posts with him on telegram and WhatsApp which he later posted on Facebook. There’s no proof if these social media users are from India or abroad” said the officer.

Police said the posts and slogans have been removed. Another officer said Imran shifted from Delhi to Bhubaneswar around six months back and was “constantly” in touch with three of his social media friends.

“He was giving them updates about his travel and his daily work. They discussed about the posts. We don’t know where the other people live. We are not sure if this is a case of honey trapping or if Imran was part of a group who aimed to radicalise youth” said the second officer.

Police are also trying to link Imran’s arrest to other modules but have not found any connection yet. He was not in touch with any other persons who have been arrested recently by the Delhi Police or UP Police for alleged espionage.