16-05-2025
Maharashtra ATS Probes Funds Diversions After Mysterious QR Code Appears At Nagpur Shrine
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It has come to light that the ATS has been entrusted with the responsibility of identifying QR codes, particularly those displayed at religious sites.
After enigmatic QR codes surfaced at various shrines across Maharashtra, including Nagpur, the state's Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has carried out clandestine operations, to detect unauthorised and suspicious funding through third-party digital payments and other online and offline modes, Times of India reported citing sources.
On Wednesday, ATS officers lodged a complaint at the Kapil Nagar police station against Mohd Ejaz Ansari after the discovery of a banner bearing a QR code at a Qamar Colony shrine, where Ansari holds no position within the shrine's governing body.
While the stated purpose of the fundraising initiative was the construction of a religious institution for women, the investigation uncovered that the QR code was redirecting donated funds to Ansari's accounts held at a nationalised bank's Chhaoni branch. The investigative agency is currently probing the subsequent transaction of these funds.
According to security agency sources who spoke with TOI, the reason behind a non-member of the shrine's management erecting the fundraising banner warrants investigation. 'The Kapil Nagar police have summoned both the individual associated with the QR code's account and the shrine's management committee to ascertain the facts. The shrine's leadership needs to clarify if they were aware of the QR code displayed on their premises. Furthermore, the account holder must provide evidence detailing how the collected funds were utilized," an ATS official explained.
It has come to light that the ATS has been entrusted with the responsibility of identifying QR codes, particularly those displayed at religious sites, that could potentially be exploited for financing extremist groups. While legitimate avenues for funding religious or social activities are being mapped out, intelligence agencies remain vigilant concerning suspicious QR codes used to gather funds in support of terrorist and sabotage activities worldwide, including in various locations throughout India.
The development came after the ghastly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam which claimed the lives of 26 individuals. Lashkar-linked terrorists opened fire on a group of tourists in Pahalgam on Tuesday, April 22, killing at least 26 people, including foreign tourists, and injuring many others. The Resistance Front (TRF), a Lashkar offshoot, claimed responsibility for the attack, although it later backtracked after massive global outrage.
India launched 'precision strikes" under Operation Sindoor on nine terror targets in Pakistan and PoK following the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians. The strikes killed at least 10 family members of JeM chief Masood Azhar and four close aides.
The sites targeted were the Pakistani bases at Rafiqui (Shorkot, Jhang), Murid (Chakwal), Nur Khan (Chaklala, Rawalpindi) Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur and Chunian (Kasur). In the strikes, the air bases in Skardu, Bholari, Jacobabad and Sargodha suffered extensive damage.
First Published:
May 16, 2025, 23:06 IST
