Gujarat ATS arrests Meerut man from Noida mobile shop over alleged Al-Qaeda links

In a statement, the Gujarat ATS claimed that they identified the four individuals who were using social media to radicalise and recruit vulnerable people and incite them to adopt extremist ideologies.

Noida Police officials confirmed Zeeshan was arrested by the Gujarat ATS after alerting them. They, however, had no prior intelligence about him, the officers said. Zeeshan was picked up from the mobile repair shop on Chhijarsi road. The shop owner, Mohammad Asad, currently visiting family in Meerut, told The Indian Express that he had no idea about Zeeshan’s alleged activities. “I hired him because he belonged to a village near my maternal village in Meerut. He didn’t talk much,” he said.

Fardeen, from an  adjacent shop, said: “He was coming to the shop for 20–25 days. He first visited to get his phone fixed, became friends with the owner since both were from Meerut. He started working here, but didn’t do much. He was mostly playing games on his phone. He looked normal, so no one asked questions.”

Another shopkeeper said, “He said he was from Ashram Road, Meerut. He would sit at the shop all day, play on his phone. The owner was also from Meerut, so they got along. He told us he had another job too, but it seems unlikely because he would drop in at random hours.”

According to locals, Zeeshan initially stayed in Chhijarsi, but on July 7, he rented a room in Chotpur, just across the road near the Hindon river.

Khurseedha, the woman who rented him the room, said: “He paid Rs 2,500 in advance. I asked for his Aadhaar, to which he said he will bring it. He came only two or three times and wasn’t sleeping here. He came once to collect his fan for repair. He never really stayed so we had no idea what he was involved in.”