Mumbai: A major terror conspiracy has been uncovered and stopped by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in Maharashtra. Due to the alert monitoring of the agency, a suspected terrorist network was exposed before it could become active. Investigations revealed that some football players from Yavatmal, Pusad, and Umarkhed were allegedly being targeted by extremist groups for recruitment.
According to officials, the ATS had been keeping a close watch on suspicious activities for the past few months. Acting on intelligence inputs, teams carried out search operations at 21 locations simultaneously across Yavatmal, Pusad, Umarkhed, and Ahilyanagar. Authorities believe certain organisations were trying to attract sports-enthusiastic youth and send them abroad for training, where they could allegedly be brainwashed and later used for terror-related activities.
The searches were conducted four days ago, with 14 raids taking place in Yavatmal district, including Pusad and Umarkhed, where football clubs are present in large numbers. Seven additional raids were carried out in Ahilyanagar. During the operation in Mukundnagar area, officials questioned several residents confidentially and recovered some suspicious swords as evidence.
Police sources said the operation was conducted secretly, including late-night searches, to avoid alerting suspects. Officials also noted that Mukundnagar is a densely populated area and has been in the news in recent years over controversial incidents and slogans. The ATS stated that the timely action has prevented a possible terror network from taking shape, and further investigation into the case is ongoing.