01-08-2025
Gujarat ATS did not share info on Al-Qaeda operative's arrest: HM Dr G Parameshwara says it's SoP violation
BENGALURU: Following the arrest of a 30-year-old woman from Hebbal by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) for allegedly having links with a terror module linked to Al-Qaeda, Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara on Thursday said the investigating agency has not shared any information on this.
The Gujarat ATS arrested Shama Parveen Ansari, who had been staying in Bengaluru for the last three years, on Tuesday. Shama has been booked under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act Terrorist Act, and BNS.
'The woman alleged to have links with the Al-Qaeda network is not from Karnataka. The Gujarat ATS which arrested her has not shared any information. There were previous reports that sleeper cells are active in Bengaluru and the investigating agencies had found them,' the minister said.
'The accused, allegedly involved in manufacturing MDMA, arrived in Mysuru about 20 days ago. When one of the accused was caught in Mumbai, leads from that arrest led the police here. Even in our state, when such cases come to light, our police go to other states to arrest the accused. This is a standard procedure followed across the country,' the minister added.
The ATS, along with support from local police, raided Shama's house and seized multiple digital devices. Shama, a graduate who was unemployed, was staying with her younger brother, a software engineer. She is alleged to have been a key conspirator and handling social media accounts by posting information related to radical ideology. She is accused of organising activities from Karnataka. She reportedly shared extremist videos linked to Al-Qaeda operatives on social media platforms, especially Instagram, from the house in Hebbal. She was sharing provocative and violent content, including jihadi videos and messages. The officials found out that she was running two Facebook pages and an Instagram account with nearly 10,000 followers. She was reportedly posting content related to radicalisation of youths towards terrorism.
