White-collar terror probe: Doctors’ radicalisation began on social media in 2019

The radicalisation of the doctors involved in the recent 'white-collar' terror module that came to light with the November 10 Red Fort area bombing began as early as 2019 on social media platforms, officials said on Sunday.

The investigation so far indicated a concerning shift in cross-border terror strategy, where highly educated professionals were groomed entirely through digital means by handlers operating from Pakistan and other parts of the world, the officials familiar with the probe said.

The members of the terror cell, which included Dr Muzammil Ganaie, Dr Adeel Rather, Dr Muzzafar Rather and Dr Umar-un-Nabi, who drove the explosive-laden car on November 10, were initially spotted by handlers across the border while active on social media platforms like Facebook and discussion spaces on X.

They were immediately shifted to private groups on 'Telegram', they said, adding that actual brainwashing started from here.

While Ganai and Adeel are now in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), probing the Red Fort blast, Muzzafar escaped to Afghanistan in August this year, and the process to seek his deportation has already been initiated by the Jammu and Kashmir Police, which unravelled the entire terror module.

They also used YouTube extensively to learn how to create Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) for carrying out terror attacks. Digital footprints analysed during the interrogation identified the primary handlers as 'Ukasa', 'Faizan' and 'Hashmi'.

All three have been operating from outside India and their names often crop up in inputs related to the Jaish-e-Mohammed terror network, the officials said.

They said that the recruited doctors had initially expressed intent to join terror groups in conflict zones like Syria or Afghanistan, but were later refrained by their handlers who asked them to continue in India and carry out multiple blasts in the hinterland.

The 'white collar' terror module was busted by Jammu and Kashmir Police along with their counterparts in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. It led the investigators to a Faridabad university where 2,900 kg of explosives were recovered.

It all started on the intervening night of October 18-19, when posters of the banned JeM surfaced on walls just outside Srinagar. The posters warned of attacks on police and security forces in the Valley.

Srinagar police treated the matter as a serious issue and not just as a one-off incident, and Senior Superintendent of Police (Srinagar) G V Sundeep Chakravarthy formed several teams for an in-depth probe.

Since 2018, the method of social media radicalisation has seen a tactical change by terror groups, who are trying to recruit people via digital platforms as heightened security measures make direct, face-to-face interactions increasingly difficult.

Once these potential recruits are identified, they are quickly moved into private groups on encrypted messaging apps like Telegram, where they are shown highly manipulative and fabricated content, often in the form of Artificial Intelligence-made videos, meant to drive hate and a narrative towards recruitment.

The recruits undergo virtual training which includes readily accessible YouTube tutorials, before being assigned operational tasks in the region.

The widespread use of Virtual Private Networks and fake profiles helps these terror networks evade detection, using encrypted platforms such as Telegram and Mastodon for encrypted communication.

Sharing India's concern, the United Nations has repeatedly underscored the effectiveness of terrorist groups in leveraging propaganda for various nefarious purposes, including recruitment and incitement to violence, and the UN Security Council in 2017 adopted a resolution -- 'Comprehensive International Framework'.

It outlines that the primary responsibility lies of the member states in combating terrorism, promoting coordination among relevant entities, tailoring counter-narratives to specific contexts and ensuring compliance with international laws and human rights obligations.