NIA takes over probe into LeT operative held in TN

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over the probe into the arrest of a suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative — a 22-year-old man from Bihar — who was allegedly plotting to target Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Also read: Tamil Nadu ATS arrests 3 terror suspects after 27 years

The suspect, identified as Akhlatur Muhammad, is from Barari village in Katihar district of Bihar. He was working as a daily-wage painter at a construction site in Chengalpattu district of Tamil Nadu and was arrested by the state Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on April 26, following an Intelligence Bureau (IB) alert.

Purchasing weapons

According to NIA officials, the arrested man, who closely follows news closely, got connected with extremist elements through WhatsApp and other social media platforms.

Also read: Chennai bomb threat cases transferred to TN's Anti-Terrorism Squad

After completing his Industrial Training Institute (ITI) course, he allegedly decided to purchase weapons. However, with limited job opportunities available in his native village, he decided to move to Tamil Nadu in search of employment, believing that the state would offer him more stable work and better wages.

According to the NIA report, the terror suspect began saving a portion of his income to pursue his alleged violent motives, reportedly diverting nearly 40% of his total earnings to acquire arms. According to an NIA report, a suspect in Tamil Nadu began saving a portion of his income to pursue his alleged violent motives, reportedly diverting nearly 40% of his total earnings to acquire arms.

Aimed to raise funds for weapons to kill Adityanath

According to senior officials, during preliminary questioning, Akhlatur confessed that his primary objective was to raise funds in Tamil Nadu for purchasing weapons, and the ultimate mission was to allegedly assassinate the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister.

“Although he had not harmed anyone in Tamil Nadu, his key focus was to earn and secretly collect money to carry out his mission,” said an officer.

NIA records reveal that Akhlatur attempted to travel to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to undergo arms training under the LeT network. He was reportedly in need of Rs 50,000–Rs 60,000 to procure weapons and ammunition.

Investigators have also found that he had been in touch with LeT recruiters and handlers from across the border via encrypted channels for five to six years.

According to NIA’s cyber-forensic analysis of his seized mobile phone, Akhlatur was systematically radicalised by anti-India influencers based in PoK.

“He was continuously fed with negative propaganda, videos of bomb blasts, and fabricated reports of atrocities on minorities in India,” said an official.

“Recently, news claiming mosques in Uttar Pradesh were being covered with tarpaulin sheets during Holi was shared with him, which appears to have fuelled his violent intent against the UP chief minister. Some of the incidents that actually took place in PoK and other countries were misrepresented to him as if they had happened in India.”

IS material also found

NIA officials also seized documents and material related to the Islamic State from his possession. Investigators are now probing his local contacts in both Bihar and Tamil Nadu and examining if cryptocurrency channels were used for funding.

Officials said a detailed chargesheet will be filed soon.

Investigators worried with radicalisation

Senior NIA officials expressed concern over how misinformation and radical propaganda can manipulate vulnerable youth. “We were shocked to see how edited, misleading information was enough to turn a young man against his own country,” said an officer.

Akhlatur has been remanded to five-day NIA custody and will be further interrogated regarding his foreign handlers and local support system.