The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), in coordination with local police, arrested Shama Parveen, a 33-year-old woman originally from Jharkhand, in Bengaluru on July 30, 2025, for her alleged involvement as a key digital campaigner for Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), a proscribed terrorist organization.

Parveen had been residing in the Manorayanapalya area of Bangalore for about three years, living with her brother, a software engineer, and maintained a low-profile lifestyle with no formal employment. 

Nonetheless, authorities describe her as a “digital propagandist” who amplified jihadist narratives online, primarily via two Facebook pages and an Instagram account, each having over 10,000 followers. 

Through these platforms, she uploaded and disseminated incendiary material such as speeches by AQIS leaders, including Maulana Asim Umar and Anwar al-Awlaki, as well as videos of Maulana Abdul Aziz from Lahore’s Lal Masjid. Her content allegedly propagated themes of violent jihad and called on followers to support “Ghazwa-e-Hind,” a reference to a radical ideological campaign promoted by AQIS.

Intelligence officials assert that Parveen’s social media conduct served as both a content distributor and a possible recruiter for the network, targeting radicalization of Indian youth and amplifying anti-India jihadist propaganda.

The ATS traced Parveen’s online activity following the recent arrest and interrogation of four AQIS operatives earlier in July: Fardin Sheikh (Ahmedabad), Mahammad Faique (Delhi), Jishan Ali (Noida), and Saifullah Qureshi (Modasa, Gujarat).

The operation against this module stemmed from actionable intelligence indicating that the group was planning a significant terrorist attack in the country, prompting raids across multiple states and the eventual apprehension of Parveen in Bangalore.

Digital devices including a laptop and several mobile phones were recovered from her possession during the arrest. After her apprehension, Parveen was produced before a court in Bengaluru, where a transit warrant was issued, and she was subsequently transported to Ahmedabad for further interrogation. The Ahmedabad Rural Court has since remanded her to 14 days of police custody for ongoing investigation.

Senior ATS officials, including DIG Sunil Joshi, emphasize that though Parveen may not have handled weapons, her alleged role in managing narratives was deemed equally dangerous in the context of modern terrorism, where digital recruitment and propaganda significantly contribute to radicalization and operational logistics.

The ATS is treating her arrest as a crucial development in ongoing national counter-terror operations, as the interrogation and digital forensics could unravel additional networks and potential threats linked to AQIS’s pan-India activities.

This arrest is part of a broader crackdown on the expanding digital propagation of extremist ideology, with security agencies increasing surveillance on radical content dissemination across social media. Authorities caution that more arrests related to this module are likely as investigations progress.

Agencies