Bhubaneswar: The Delhi Police special cell on Friday arrested a 22-year-old man from Bhubaneswar on suspicion of links with terrorist organisations and involvement in circulating radical content online, a police officer said on Saturday.
The accused was arrested from a rented accommodation in the Ganga Nagar locality of Unit-VI of Bhubaneswar for allegedly posting “anti-India slogans on social media platforms” and “receiving funds” from sources linked to extremist networks.
Police officials clarified that while his online activity had raised concerns, no direct link is yet to be established between him and any specific terror incident.
The officer said the arrest followed a wider investigation launched by the special cell into a group of youths in Delhi suspected of sharing radical material through social media and encrypted messaging applications.
According to the officer, the case originated in Delhi, where police were examining the online activity of several individuals suspected of disseminating radical content through platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and Signal. During the interrogation of suspects in Delhi and forensic analysis of their digital communications, investigators said they uncovered links that extended to Odisha.
Acting on intelligence inputs, officers from the Delhi Police, in coordination with the Bhubaneswar Commissionerate Police, conducted an operation and detained the accused.
{{/usCountry}}Acting on intelligence inputs, officers from the Delhi Police, in coordination with the Bhubaneswar Commissionerate Police, conducted an operation and detained the accused.
{{/usCountry}}The suspect was later produced before the SDJM court, Bhubaneswar, which granted transit remand to Delhi for further questioning.
Police said the accused, an unemployed, had allegedly become an “active member of a closed online network” that circulated content aimed at religious radicalisation. The suspect allegedly remained in contact with Pakistan-based organisations during his stay in Delhi over the past two to three years.
“Digital records and financial transactions are being analysed to determine the extent of suspected links,” an officer said on condition of anonymity.
Police said the accused relocated to Bhubaneswar about six to seven months ago following intensified enforcement actions in Delhi.
A senior police officer from the special cell said, “It was during the probe of terror and espionage modules that we found the Odisha link. During interrogation and analysis of the social media posts, the link was confirmed, and the accused was arrested. The suspect was sharing videos on encrypted apps and interacting with a handler with a +92 (Pakistan) mobile number.”
The crackdown followed a move by the Ministry of Home Affairs to ban 17 organisations under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
His father said his son had struggled academically and later worked in low-paying jobs, including as a food delivery worker. “He had failed his matriculation examination and had been trying to find work. We never suspected anything like this,” he said.