A suspected Al-Qaeda operative, arrested from Bengaluru, allegedly ran two Telegram channels namely ‘The Eagle of Khorasan’ and ‘Hinder Eagle’ through which he provoked gullible youths to wage jihad in Kashmir, said the National Investigation Agency after taking over the probe from the Bengaluru police. The agency has alleged that Akhtar Hussain Lashkar, a native of Assam and Abdul Alim Mondal, a resident of West Bengal, are the kingpins of the module.
While Lashkar was arrested from Bengaluru, Mondal was arrested from Salem in Tamil Nadu in July this year. According to investigations carried out by NIA, Lashkar and Mondal were said to be involved in activities relating to radicalisation of youth through social media. “In their social media groups, the duo was trying to incite communal violence by projecting that Indian forces were committing atrocities against Muslims in Kashmir. They allegedly provoked youths to indulge in treason against India,” said a senior official who did not wish to be identified.
Lashkar, as per NIA, had affiliations with foreign militant groups. His handlers were operating from Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. The group had plans to send radicalised youth for training to Afghanistan and Kashmir (PoK). Ahead of his arrest, Lashkar, who worke
