Pakistan-linked handler targeting youth, two men arrested in Bijnor tell police

NEW DELHI: Two men arrested in Uttar Pradesh's Bijnor have told police that a Pakistan-linked handler was trying to build a network in India using social media platforms. The handler is currently based in Saudi Arabia and had been reaching out to people online, police said on Saturday.Uvaid Malik and Jalal Haider were arrested after a tip-off about their alleged links with Aqib, a native of Sathla village in Meerut’s Mawana area, who is now in West Asia. Aqib had earlier come under attention after a video surfaced on Instagram on November 23, where he was allegedly seen with an AK-47 rifle and explosives, circle officer Najibabad, Anjani Kumar Chaturvedi, said on Saturday. During questioning, the two accused told police that Aqib used Instagram to spread inflammatory content and incite youngsters against Hindus. Police said he also encouraged anti-national activities through his posts.Investigators found that Uvaid and Jalal had come in contact with Aqib and another person, Maizul, around three years ago while working in Surat. Maizul is currently based in South Africa and is believed to be part of the same network.Police said Uvaid was planning to flee to Nepal on the advice of his contacts. Teams are now searching for Aqib, Maizul, Sameer and Azad in connection with the case.