Jharkhand Police’s Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has conducted a major operation, resulting in the arrest of 7 terrorists across three districts- Lohardaga, Hazaribagh, and Godda. These suspects are reported to be sleeper cell members of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).
Among those arrested are one suspect from Pelawal in Hazaribagh, one from Heinzala in the Kudu police station area of Lohardaga, and five youths from the Chanho and Itki areas of Ranchi. The ATS is currently conducting intensive interrogations of all the suspects.
During the raids, the ATS also recovered weapons from the Heinzala area of the Kudu police station in Lohardaga. One terrorist was apprehended in Kowakhap with two firearms. This arrest was confirmed by Sub-Divisional Police Officer Shraddha Kerketta.
This operation follows the July 2023 arrest of Faizan, an ISIS terrorist from Lohardaga, who was training people for terrorist activities through social media.
This recent crackdown is seen as a significant effort to curb the expanding terrorist network in Jharkhand.