Anti-Terrorism Squad raids three locations in Mumbai, Maharashtra

• Attempt to curb online radical propaganda of ‘Islamic State’

• Smartphones, SIM cards, laptops and hard disks seized

Mumbai – The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has taken action to curb the growing online radical propaganda of the Islamic State. The squad conducted simultaneous raids at three locations in the Kurla and Govandi areas of Mumbai. So far, the squad has not officially announced any arrests in this case.

The squad had received certain inputs from central intelligence agencies. The agencies suspected that some youths were using digital media, particularly ‘encrypted messaging apps’ (applications that allow confidential exchange of messages), to spread the radical ideology of the ‘Islamic State’, also known as ‘ISIS’. After verifying this information, the squad cordoned off the suspected locations and carried out the raids. Smartphones, SIM cards, laptops and hard disks were seized from the suspects as technical and digital evidence.

Forensic examination will reveal through which medium the suspects were in contact with foreign handlers. All the seized devices have been sent to a forensic laboratory, where efforts are underway to recover deleted data from them.