Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Gangtok: Sikkim Police hauled a 19-year-old man into custody in Gangtok for pushing Islamic State ideology across social media. Detectives booked Md. Arju under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, the Information Technology Act, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. He sits behind bars today.
The investigation kicked off earlier this month after tips surfaced about extremist content targeting local youth. Police tracked the digital trail to an Instagram account dubbed Group of Islamic Members. Officers picked up six people for questioning during the sweep. Five walked on bail, but they remain named in the police report.
Arju gave investigators the runaround during questioning. Officers then raided his gear. They hauled away a laptop, an iPad, and a mobile phone. Digital forensics uncovered damning evidence linking his accounts on X, Instagram, and Telegram to the banned terrorist group. Officials said the content included chatter about funding militants and moving counterfeit cash. Investigators also flagged WhatsApp threads with Pakistani numbers on the suspect's device.
Police are still working to map out the reach of this network. They want to see if more people had a hand in these online operations. Regarding the scope of the case, police noted, "The investigation is ongoing to determine the extent of the alleged network and whether others were involved in the online activities."
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