https://www.rediff.com/news/report/how- ... 251024.htm
How 2 educated youths became ISIS's Delhi operatives
Hemant Waje, October 25, 2025
The two men had been instructed to carry out a terror strike in a crowded Delhi location on Diwali, targeting a prominent mall and a public park.
They were young, educated, and lived what seemed to be ordinary lives. But behind their smartphone and laptop screens, the two men were slowly drawn into the dark web of ISIS propaganda, and eventually allegedly converted it into a plot to strike Delhi on Diwali.
The two youths -- Md Adnan Khan alias Abu Muharib (19), from Delhi's Sadiq Nagar, and Adnan Khan alias Abu Mohammad (20), from Bhopal -- were arrested in a pre-emptive operation that likely averted a major tragedy, according to officials.
The duo, described as "highly radicalised", had allegedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and were working under the command of a handler operating from the Syria-Turkey border.
According to investigators, the men had been instructed to carry out a terror strike in a crowded Delhi location on Diwali, targeting a prominent mall and a public park.
Mohammad grew up in a middle-class home in Bhopal. His father, Salam Khan, works as an accountant for private firms, while his mother has done small acting roles in local productions. He attended a madrasa between the ages of 6 and 10 leading to his radicalisation and entry in the terror world, Additional Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Pramod Singh Kushwah said.
After completing Class 12, he began preparing for the chartered accountancy exams. But behind the quiet routine, investigators say, he was spending long hours online, following jihadi pages and watching ISIS propaganda videos. His radicalisation reportedly began after his madrasa years and deepened post-2020 as he engaged with extremist content.
In June 2024, Mohammad's first brush with the law came when he was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for threatening an additional sessions judge linked to the Gyanvapi Mosque case on social media. He was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) but was later released on bail in a few months when lesser charges were framed.
Soon after his release, he returned to extremist content online, this time more deeply involved. He connected with Muharib from Delhi, and together they began running Instagram channels and YouTube pages pushing ISIS propaganda and trying to recruit like-minded youth. Their coordination with the Syria-based handler Abu Ibrahim al-Qureshi marked the next phase -- the move from ideology to action.
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Gautam