CIK busts online radical network, foils recruitment of two minors

The Jammu and Kashmir Police’s Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK) has neutralised the online propaganda machinery of a terrorist outfit and prevented the recruitment of two teenage boys into militancy, officials said on Monday.

A CIK spokesperson said the operation was carried out following precise intelligence inputs and sustained cyber surveillance. Investigators identified two social media handles — ‘faithful_warrior57’ and ‘Gurkboru.08’ — that were engaged in glorifying terrorism and spreading extremist propaganda.

“These accounts were actively circulating digital content and audio clips of known terrorists, aimed at sowing discord, promoting secessionist sentiment, and luring impressionable youth toward violent extremism,” the spokesperson said.

Both individuals operating the accounts were traced, apprehended for questioning, and found to be juveniles, the spokesperson confirmed. A digital forensic examination of one of the seized mobile devices established that the juvenile was the user of the handle ‘Gurkboru.08’ and had been disseminating terror content under the direction of an online handler.

“Investigations revealed that he had been using encrypted communication tools and VPNs to maintain covert contact with handlers based across the border,” the official added.

Further inquiries led to the identification of the handler, operating under the alias ‘Saqib’, whose real name was found to be Ahmad Salar — a Pakistan-based propagandist linked to The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the Lashkar-e-Taiba.

According to police, Salar was running a “sophisticated online indoctrination campaign” designed to manipulate young social media users through ideological grooming, emotional manipulation, and glorification of militant activities. The second juvenile, who operated the handle ‘faithful_warrior57’, was also reportedly influenced by the same handler.

“Digital evidence revealed a pattern of instructions, emotional coercion, and ideological conditioning intended to draw both minors deeper into the extremist network,” the spokesperson said.

The CIK said the coordinated operation, supported by advanced cyber analytics and swift field action, successfully disrupted the recruitment network, safeguarded two minors from radicalisation, and thwarted a potential security threat to community peace.