The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested a 19-year-old student pursuing dentistry for allegedly having links with an online module of the banned terror outfit ISIS, officials said on Monday (March 16, 2026).
Haarish Ali, a resident of Saharanpur district, was arrested in Moradabad on Sunday (March 15) during an ongoing probe into activities of ISIS-linked online networks operating in India, a statement from the ATS said.
The second-year BDS student is alleged to have been associated with ISIS handlers and sympathisers through social media platforms such as Instagram and encrypted applications like Session and Discord, officials said.
According to the ATS, intelligence inputs indicated that some individuals in Uttar Pradesh and other parts of the country were creating online groups to propagate ISIS ideology aimed at establishing a Sharia-based caliphate system and recruit people to strengthen the terror outfit in India.
The groups were allegedly used to share propaganda materials, extremist literature and instructions related to ISIS activities.
