Young, educated & radicalised

Nineteen-year-old Mohammad Adnan, a diploma holder in Information Technology, shifted to Delhi in 2023 following transfer of his father Salim Khan, who worked as a driver at Doordarshan office in Etah.

Investigators said he began consuming radical material on social media, which eventually drew him towards the ISIS. Operating from his father’s government accommodation in South Delhi’s Sadiq Nagar, Adnan allegedly edited and distributed extremist videos online.

Around eight months ago, he came in contact with another suspect 20-year-old Adnan Khan from Bhopal, who was pursuing Chartered Accountancy. Khan, whose father works as an accountant and mother is a part-time actor, was previously exposed to extremist ideologies while studying at a madrasa between the age of six and 10.

In June 2024, he was arrested by the UP Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for threatening an Additional Sessions Judge in connection with the Gyanvapi videographic survey.

The police said Khan instructed Adnan to produce and circulate radical content, while both were in touch with a Syria-based ISIS handler Abu Ibrahim al-Qureshi. The handler allegedly provided them with videos, images and PDFs promoting ISIS ideology.

Influenced by this material, Adnan reportedly pledged allegiance (Bay?ah) to the ISIS Caliph. The duo went on to create several Instagram channels to conduct online “Dawat” sessions aimed at recruiting others to their extremist cause. What began as propaganda work soon escalated to operational planning as under their handler’s direction, they allegedly started procuring components to assemble improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the police said.