After receiving information from the Delhi Police Special Cell, Tihar Jail authorities have recovered a cellphone from terror convicts. According to ANI, the Special Cell suspects that the phone was used to operate Telegram channels “used recently for claiming responsibility for terror acts/threats”.
Previously, in connection with the Mukesh Ambani bomb scare case, a private cyber agency had identified the source of the Telegram channel, allegedly run by the terror organisation Jaish-ul-Hind, to have been created in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail, reported The Indian Express. However, notably, Jaish-ul-Hind had sent out a letter denying any involvement in the incident.
The mobile phone seized by Tihar authorities, as per media reports, was found in the barrack of Tehseen Akhtar, alias Monu, a suspected key Indian Mujahideen operative. Akhtar was arrested following the 2014 serial blasts in Patna targeting Narendra Modi's rally and is also reportedly linked to the serial blasts in Hyderabad and Bodh Gaya.
The Delhi Police Special Cell has informed ANI that further probe and forensic analysis will be carried out after Tihar Jail authorities provide them with the mobile handset and details of the seizure.
How the mobile phone reached inside Tihar Jail will also be probed.
The Cyber Agency’s Probe
The private cyber agency was tasked by an unnamed investigation agency to probe into the location of the phone which created the channel, the outcome of which has been shared with the Delhi Police Special Cell by central agencies, added the report.
The report by the agency noted that the channel was created at 3:20 pm on 26 February using TOR network, which allows users to surf the dark web, and the SIM card used pointed to a location within or near Tihar Jail.
A message was posted on the Telegram channel on 27 February, claiming responsibility for the bomb scare incident near Antilia, the home of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani, where the Mumbai Police on Thursday, 25 February, retrieved an abandoned SUV laden with explosives.
Previously, when the Telegram channel was first discovered, Jaish-ul-Hind sent out a letter denying any involvement in the incident. The Quint reached out to sources in the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the Mumbai Police who said that they had not established any link of the incident with Jaish-ul-Hind so far.
What Did the First Letter Claiming Responsibility Say?
The first letter that was circulated and was widely being claimed as the one taking responsibility for planting the SUV across media houses said, “This was just the trailer and the big picture is yet to come.”
“Now you must be wondering who we are. We are the same ‘Aqlaq’ you killed for one cow. We are the people you massacred in the Delhi pogrom. We are the sisters you raped in Gujarat. We are you worst nightmare,” the letter said, adding, “We have a problem with corporate prostitutes like you who have sold their souls to the BJP and RSS.”
The letter further threatened the Ambanis and asked them to send money via a payment link through cryptocurrency.
What Did the Letter of Denial by Jaish-ul-Hind Say?
After the letter went viral and was being widely reported by the Indian media, a letter of ‘denial’ surfaced on Monday which said that the outfit had nothing against Indian business tycoons.
Further, stating that it was aware of a Telegram account being run in its name, the outfit said: “By this poster we want to clear that ‘Jaish-uI-Hind’ has no relation with the incident (that) happened outside the Mukesh Ambani bungalow. The alleged telegram account and poster has no link with Jaish-ul-Hind.”
(With inputs from The Indian Express.)
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