A 20-year-old man, Yash Singh, has been arrested for allegedly conducting reconnaissance of sensitive locations in Mumbai, including Nariman House — the Chabad House Jewish centre in Colaba that was one of the targets of the 26/11 terror attacks — police officials said on Saturday.

Source: Daily Jagran

Singh, a resident of Airoli in Navi Mumbai, was first detained by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) after inputs about his social-media contact with suspected anti-national handlers. He was later taken into custody by a Kerala Police team from Thrissur in a case registered at the Thrissur East police station under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), officials said.

Source: The Times of Bengal

According to police, his assignments included photographing and pinpointing the exact locations of the Chabad House, businesses owned by Jewish individuals and areas frequented by foreign nationals, and collecting vehicle details. Officials allege he received money in exchange for the work and was in direct contact with handlers through Telegram and other social-media platforms.

Officials said foreign-based criminal networks, including the Pakistan-based Shahzad Bhatti network, are alleged to use social media to recruit unemployed and financially vulnerable young people for reconnaissance and other subversive tasks. That wider network claim is a police allegation and has not been tested in court in this case.

Source: Mirror Now

Chabad House, also known as Nariman House, was stormed by Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists during the coordinated Mumbai attacks of November 2008, which killed 166 people across the city. Police say further investigation is under way to establish the full chain behind the alleged reconnaissance.