FPJ-Exclusive: Maharashtra ATS Books Fundamentalist Organisation Over Alleged Indoctrination Of Minors To Build Radicalised ‘Child Wing’

Mumbai, August 10, 2026: The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), Mumbai, has booked six individuals and several unidentified persons linked to a fundamentalist organisation for allegedly running a structured programme across the state to indoctrinate children aged between 10 and 15 years. According to the agency, the organisation was attempting to build a dedicated "child wing" through training camps and ideological sessions.

According to the ATS, digital forensic analysis of electronic devices seized during an ongoing counter-terrorism investigation uncovered videos and other material allegedly documenting the activities of the organisation's purported "child wing". The agency alleged that the evidence revealed a systematic effort to expose children to communal and extremist narratives through structured programmes, pointing to what the agency describes as an organised radicalisation effort with potential implications for national security.

Searches In Ahilyanagar And Yavatmal

According to officials familiar with the investigation, the case stems from intelligence-led searches conducted earlier this year in Ahilyanagar and Yavatmal districts following inputs on suspected online radicalisation and extremist activity. During the searches, ATS teams recorded the statements of several suspects and seized mobile phones, laptops, hard disks, memory cards, financial records, literature and organisational documents from their premises. Officials said forensic examination of the seized electronic devices, including video recordings, forms the basis of the first information report.

The analysis of seized digital evidence, including video recordings, has brought under scrutiny a "Summer Islamic Camp" organised by the organisation in Yavatmal's Pusad city. Although the camp was presented to parents as a religious educational programme for children, investigators alleged that select groups of 40 young participants were isolated and exposed to hardline and anti-national ideological material.

Officials further claimed that several camps held near Pardi functioned as key screening and recruitment platforms where vulnerable youths were allegedly identified, influenced and systematically radicalised before being inducted into deeper operational echelons. They added that the children participated in structured sessions designed to expose them to communal narratives and gradually influence them towards extremist ideology.

Links To Banned Organisations Alleged

The ATS complaint further alleged that the camp was attended by several sympathisers of the organisation, including persons linked to banned organisations and individuals previously booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The ATS alleged that they used the camp to influence and mislead young children, exposing them to radical narratives and attempting to steer them towards extremist ideology.

According to officials, the organisation publicly projected itself as a socio-religious and educational youth platform. However, investigators have alleged that its activities extended beyond its stated objectives. The state security agency alleged that forensic and intelligence-backed evidence has exposed its operations as a facade for a deep-seated radicalisation and clandestine recruitment pipeline operating across vulnerable pockets of Maharashtra.

Role-Play Exercises Under Scrutiny

According to the FIR, video footage recovered during the investigation allegedly showed that the organisation ran a structured programme of psychological conditioning, with impressionable children directed to participate in deeply polarising role-play exercises centred on communal and geopolitical themes. In one such exercise depicting the Israel-Palestine conflict, the children enacted scenes of warfare. The ATS alleges that the script portrayed Israel as committing atrocities against Palestinians and referred to civilians, including women, children and the elderly, as having been "martyred".

Another performance, according to the FIR, divided participating children into groups portraying Hindus and Muslims. The ATS alleges that one group portrayed members of the Bajrang Dal and enacted a scene involving the placement of idols of Hindu deities inside a mosque. The agency alleged that the dramatisation also referenced the demolition of the Babri Masjid, with dialogue in the script depicting a character urging others to place an idol inside the mosque and making a reference to the mosque's demolition.

Police Probe Continues

According to the ATS, subsequent scenes showed children portraying Muslims discussing how to protect the mosque after allegedly learning of the plan. Investigators alleged that the script depicted the children discovering the idol inside the mosque and debating whether to inform the police, with one character suggesting that approaching the authorities would result in the mosque being lost and proposing instead that the idol be removed.

The FIR further alleges that another child portraying a Muslim character tells others that weapons had been hidden, following which slogans of "Jai Shri Ram" are heard as the opposing group approaches the stage. According to investigators, the performance culminates in a choreographed clash between the two groups using symbolic weapons fashioned from wooden sticks covered with silver-coloured material while a nasheed (an Islamic devotional song) plays in the background.

The investigation has also brought physical training sessions conducted during some of the programmes under scrutiny. Officials said the ATS is examining the nature and purpose of these activities while mapping participant attendance, communication networks, travel records and financial transactions linked to camps allegedly organised by the group across different parts of Maharashtra.

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The ATS has cited the recovered videos as evidence that children were being exposed to communal narratives and conflict-based role-play as part of the camp. The agency is examining the digital evidence, financial records, communication data and organisational links to determine the full extent of the alleged radicalisation programme and whether additional individuals were involved.

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