Plot from TN to eliminate UP CM, NIA conducts pan India raids

CHENNAI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday conducted extensive searches at 21 locations across five states and one Union Territory in a major operation targeting a terror conspiracy case - originated in Chengalpattu - with possible links to global terrorist organisations, including ISIS and a plot to eliminate UP CM Yogi Adityanath.

The raids were carried out in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu ( Thoothukudi) , and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The case originally investigated by the Kayar police in Chengalpattu before being taken over by the federal counter-terror agency in June.

According to an NIA press release, the searches led to the seizure of several digital devices, including mobile phones, along with incriminatory documents. The investigation stems from the arrest of a key accused, Akhlathur @ Mohammed Akhlque Mujahid, who had allegedly conspired with others to commit terrorist acts in India.

Background details from Tamil Nadu police sources reveal a clearer picture of the conspiracy and the suspect's motives. Akhlathur Mohammed, a 22-year-old native of Barari village in Bihar, had been working as a painter at a construction site in Chengalpattu since January 2025.

Investigators state that Mohammed, a sympathiser of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), was deeply frustrated by an incident during the Holi festival in March this year. He was reportedly "pained" by the situation where several mosques in Uttar Pradesh were covered with tarpaulin to protect them from splashes of colour.

"Such things never happened earlier. Now the mosques' managers were told to cover the mosques with tarpaulin during the Holi festival season," he allegedly told his interrogators.

This frustration allegedly spurred him to plot an attack against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Police sources indicate that Mohammed was saving a significant portion of his monthly wages of approximately Rs. 20,000—nearly Rs. 10,000—to procure weapons for the attack.

The NIA investigation found that the accused was in contact with proscribed terrorist organisations, including ISIS, through social media platforms. He was also found to have connections with multiple entities in Pakistan and Syria.

Tamil Nadu police sources added that Mohammed was systematically radicalized by handlers from Lashkar-e-Taiba over the last few years. His plan was to eventually travel to Pakistan-controlled territory to receive arms training once he had saved enough money.

His arrest on April 26 by the Chengalpattu police—coordinated by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) with Intelligence Bureau (IB) inputs—came immediately after the Pahalgam terror attack. To avoid compromising broader investigations, the arrest was kept under wraps until the NIA formally took over the case.