PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
The police arrested a man who is allegedly a part of the network that targeted vulnerable young women in Dehradun through social media, attempted to influence them emotionally and financially and facilitated their conversion and planned marriages under new identities. The police identified the accused as Ayan Javed from Dhanbad, Jharkhand, a member of Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HUT), an organisation linked to anti-national activities, the Dehradun senior superintendent of police Ajai Singh said.
He informed that investigators found that he and his associates used social media and other channels to radicalise youth and persuade them to leave their homes. According to Singh, Javed had previously been arrested by Jharkhand Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) with illegal weapons under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and is currently lodged in Ranchi Central Jail. The SIT formed by Dehradun SSP is coordinating to bring him to the city on a warrant.
The investigation revealed that the accused provided a victim from Ranipokhari in Dehradun with a mobile phone and SIM card to maintain contact and convince her to convert. During counselling, the victim identified other accused arrested in a related Agra case, leading to additional charges under organised crime and criminal conspiracy provisions.
Singh said that the police also tracked another accused, Suleman, a native of Dehradun currently residing in Dubai. Authorities have sought a lookout notice for him through the Ministry of Home Affairs. Six others, including individuals from Delhi, Goa, Muzaffarnagar and Dehradun, were identified as part of the syndicate and have been arrested in Agra.
Warrants have been issued to bring them to Dehradun for further proceedings, he said. The SSP stated that timely counselling saved the victims and other young women from being trapped by the network, which allegedly sought to exploit them for both religious conversion and terrorist objectives.
