Woman arrested in Bengaluru for sharing ‘jihadi content’ on social media

Bengaluru: The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has arrested a woman in connection with an alleged Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) module. The accused, 30-year-old Shama Parveen from Jharkhand, had been living in Bengaluru for the past five years and was arrested on July 29 for allegedly spreading extremist content online, The Indian Express reported. This is the fifth person arrested in this case.

Her arrest comes after four others — Mohd Fardeen (Ahmedabad), Mohd Faiq (Delhi), Zeeshan Ali (Noida), and Sefullah Kureshi (Modasa, Gujarat) — were taken into custody on July 22, the report said. They were charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for allegedly promoting radical propaganda through Instagram and Facebook.

The arrest operation, led by DySP Virjeetsinh Parmar of Gujarat ATS, was supported by central agencies and Bengaluru police. After her arrest, Parveen was presented before the 8th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Bengaluru, where a transit warrant was issued for her transfer to Gujarat.

According to Gujarat ATS, initial checks on Parveen’s phone showed that she was allegedly operating flagged social media accounts linked to the other accused. She reportedly posted speeches by AQIS leaders like Maulana Asim Umar and Anwar al-Awlaki encouraging violent jihad and “Ghazwa-e-Hind.”

She also allegedly shared videos of Maulana Abdul Aziz of Lahore’s Lal Masjid, promoting armed rebellion and inciting communal unrest, The Indian Express report said.