Terrorist with Jaish links tasked to kill Nupur Sharma arrested from UP's Saharanpur

The Anti-Terrorist Squad of Uttar Pradesh Police on Friday arrested an alleged terrorist linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed, who was tasked with killing suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.

Accused Mohammad Nadeem is a native of Kunda Kala village under Gangoh police station area in Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said in a statement.

The ADGP claimed that the police recovered chats and voice messages from Nadeem's phone and these messages were traced to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The accused was allegedly tasked with murdering Nupur Sharma, who was suspended as a spokesperson for the BJP after her comments about the Prophet triggered huge protests in India and a series of official complaints by Gulf countries.

During interrogation, Nadeem admitted that he was in direct contact with JeM since 2018 and that the outfit had invited him over to Pakistan and Syria for special training.

The UP ATS had received information that a man in Saharanpur, influenced by Jaish and TTP ideology, was preparing for a "Fidayeen" attack.

As per reports, Nadeem was ready to travel to Pakistan for arms training revealed his phone records and messages, said police.

A mobile phone with two SIM cards was recovered from him, in which a PDF document titled "Explosive Course Fidae Force" was found, informed the ATS.

The terrorist has also named his Indian accomplices in the case and an investigation is underway, said police.

Police said Mohammed Nadeem was in touch with the terror groups through WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, Club House, and other social media platforms.

The Uttar Pradesh police have booked Mohammad Nadeem under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.