HYDERABAD: A 22-year-old hotel worker from
Ghaziabad, who was arrested by the Medchal police four days ago on charges of “endangering the sovereignty and unity of India”, was allegedly in contact with Abid Jatt and Rana Hussain, suspected associates of Pakistan-based gangster-turned-terror operative Shahzad Bhatti.
The accused shared phone numbers of Uttar Pradesh ministers with the co-accused and requested them to provide him a pistol to carry out illegal activities in the country.
According to the Medchal police, the arrested accused, Zayeed Khan alias Adil Khan, who was active on Instagram since 2021, started posting videos with a toy pistol from 2023 onwards to gain views.
On interrogation, Khan, who studied up to Class 4, confessed that in early 2026, while looking for gun sellers on Instagram, he came across the profiles of Abid Jatt and Rana Hussain, reportedly associated with Pakistan-based Shahzad Bhatti, who in turn allegedly has links with ISI. Police said that on the request of Abid and Rana, Zayeed shared Instagram account details of one ‘Chhotaa Yogi of Prayagraj’.
“Abid and Rana also asked Zayeed to provide the phone number of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s personal assistant, but he instead sent publicly available phone numbers and email IDs of cabinet ministers,” a Medchal police officer said.
Investigators also alleged that from WhatsApp chats, Instagram messages and phone conversation records of Zayeed, it came to light that he also sought a pistol from Abid and Rana to carry out anti-national activities.
“Abid promised to provide him a pistol if Zayeed prints and pastes 1,000 posters in Ghaziabad carrying the text ‘Pakistani Don Abid Jatt’ and sends him video clips of doing so,” an investigator said.
With Bhatti and Abid Jatt linked to the newly emerged outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Hindustan (TTH), intelligence officials also questioned Zayeed, who was in judicial remand.
Acting on specific intelligence inputs, the Medchal police arrested Zayeed on May 23 from an eatery in Medchal, where he was working as a waiter since Feb 2026. Police searched his room and found two toy pistols. Police also seized his phone containing WhatsApp and Instagram chats with Abid and Rana.
A suo motu case was registered under Sections 152 (Act endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
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eid 2026He has been reporting crime, courts, politics, transport, and civ...
Read MoreHe has been reporting crime, courts, politics, transport, and civic issues for 18 years. Currently working for The Times of India as an Assistant Editor in Hyderabad. He has worked with the Delhi-NCR edition of the Times of India in the past. He has also have audio-visual media and research experience.
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