India: 20-year-old arrested on suspicion of gathering intelligence on Chabad House in Mumbai for money
A 20-year-old man was arrested in Mumbai on suspicion of gathering intelligence on the Chabad House in the city and on additional Jewish and foreign targets, for money and under the direction of operators on social networks. The arrest was carried out as part of a joint investigation by the Anti-Terrorism Squad and the Kerala Police.
A 20-year-old man, Yash Singh, was arrested in Mumbai on suspicion of gathering intelligence on the Chabad House in the city and on additional targets related to Jews and foreign nationals, for money and under the direction of operators outside India. This was reported by the Indian news agency PTI citing an official source. Singh, a resident of Airoli in Navi Mumbai, was initially detained by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and later arrested by the Kerala Police. According to the suspicion, he photographed and mapped the Chabad House, businesses owned by Jews, and places where foreign nationals stay, under the direction of operators on Telegram. Investigators discovered a connection between him and another suspect in a case being handled under the Indian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The report mentioned a warning from law enforcement agencies about criminal networks operating outside India, including a network called "Shahzad Bhatti" based in Pakistan, which uses social networks to recruit unemployed young people for intelligence gathering. However, it was not clarified whether Singh was activated by this network. The Chabad House in Mumbai was one of the targets in the November 2008 terror attack.