2 weeks ago
Maharashtra ATS Probes Inter-State Child Wing Radicalisation Links
Police in Maharashtra are looking into a group they think was teaching children bad ideas.
The group reportedly ran training camps and lessons to influence young minds.
Police believe the group was connected to another organisation in Hyderabad called DJS.
DJS says it is just a community group that teaches martial arts and self-defence.
Police worry that children were being pulled toward extreme beliefs.
They are checking phone calls, money transfers, and travel records.
Long ago, some people linked to DJS were accused of joining dangerous groups.
Police are studying those old cases to understand what might be happening now.
DJS keeps saying it has never done anything unlawful.
The police investigation is still going on.
Maharashtra ATS is investigating alleged inter-state links between a Maharashtra-based fundamentalist organisation and the Hyderabad-based Darsgah-Jihad-O-Shahadat (DJS).
The probe centres on an alleged attempt to radicalise minors and build a covert 'child wing' through training camps and ideological sessions.
Investigators have traced operational, financial and logistical links to suspects in Ahilyanagar and the Yavatmal region, including Pusad, Pardi and Umarkhed.
Past security dossiers indicate some DJS cadres later gravitated towards banned outfits such as Indian Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Taiba, HuJI and Al-Qaeda affiliates.
DJS, founded in Hyderabad in 1983, denies any involvement in unlawful or extremist activities, and the investigation remains ongoing.
- Who
- Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) investigators and suspects linked to the Hyderabad-based Darsgah-Jihad-O-Shahadat (DJS).
- What
- An investigation into allegations of radicalising minors and building a covert 'child wing' with suspected inter-state links.
- Where
- Mumbai; with links traced to Ahilyanagar and the Yavatmal region (Pusad, Pardi, Umarkhed) in Maharashtra, and Hyderabad.
- When
- Reported on August 13, 2026; the development was first reported by The Free Press Journal on August 11.
- Why
- Officials suspect that elements linked to DJS and the frontal organisation of SIMI may be attempting to influence young minds and draw them towards extremist ideology.
Security agencies
DJS and its supporters
Nature of DJS activities
Security agencies
ATS and past security dossiers allege that DJS-linked cadres subsequently gravitated towards banned terror outfits such as IM, LeT and HuJI, and that its outreach programmes helped radicalise young minds.
DJS and its supporters
DJS describes itself as a socio-religious organisation involved in community outreach and martial arts and self-defence training, and consistently denies any involvement in unlawful or extremist activities.
Inter-state network
Security agencies
Investigators suspect the contacts between Maharashtra suspects and DJS-associated individuals form part of a wider inter-state network attempting to revive extremist influence.
DJS and its supporters
The probe is still examining whether the contacts were isolated interactions or part of a wider network, leaving the alleged network unproven for now.
Key facts
- Investigating agency
- Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS)
- Organisation under scrutiny
- Darsgah-Jihad-O-Shahadat (DJS), founded in Hyderabad in 1983
- Allegation
- Radicalisation of minors and creation of a covert 'child wing'
- Locations probed
- Ahilyanagar; Yavatmal region (Pusad, Pardi, Umarkhed); Hyderabad
- DJS stance
- Denies any involvement in unlawful or extremist activities
- First reported by
- The Free Press Journal (August 11)
- Status
- Investigation ongoing
Sources
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