Maharashtra ATS Traces Inter-State Link Between ‘Child Wing’ Organisation And Hyderabad Outfit Under Terror Scrutiny

Mumbai, August 13, 2026: The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has uncovered an alleged inter-state network linking a fundamentalist organisation operating in Maharashtra with individuals associated with the Hyderabad-based Darsgah-Jihad-O-Shahadat (DJS), as investigators probe an alleged attempt to radicalise minors and build a covert “child wing”.

According to officials, investigators have traced operational, financial and logistical links between suspects from Maharashtra and individuals associated with DJS in Hyderabad. The trail extends to suspects in Ahilyanagar and the Yavatmal region, including Pusad, Pardi and Umarkhed, with investigators examining communication records, financial transactions, travel details and other evidence.

The development comes after the ATS cracked down on the fundamentalist organisation for allegedly running a structured programme to indoctrinate children through training camps and ideological sessions, including an alleged effort to create a dedicated child wing. The development was first reported by The Free Press Journal on August 11.

According to ATS officials, some Maharashtra-based suspects maintained discreet contact with DJS-associated individuals and allegedly participated in programmes conducted under the DJS organisation’s community outreach activities. Investigators are now examining whether these contacts were isolated interactions or formed part of a wider inter-state network.

DJS Background Under Examination

Founded in Hyderabad in 1983, DJS describes itself as a socio-religious organisation involved in community outreach as well as martial arts and self-defence training. The organisation has, however, faced scrutiny from security agencies in the past over allegations concerning radicalisation and the activities of some of its former members and associates with radical groups.

Over the last two decades, multiple high-profile intelligence audits and security dossiers indicate that several DJS cadres — with initial exposure to its training — subsequently gravitated towards banned, pan-Indian terrorist outfits such as the Indian Mujahideen (IM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI) and Al-Qaeda affiliates.

Among the operatives who have figured in past investigations was Mohammed Abdul Shahed alias Shahed Bilal, the suspected mastermind of the 2007 Mecca Masjid and Gokul Chat Bhandar blasts in Hyderabad. Police records described him as a former member of the DJS, while security agencies subsequently accused him of having links with LeT and HuJI.

Similarly, Syed Maqbool, also described as a former DJS member, was accused of being part of the IM’s Hyderabad module and was named in the investigation into the 2013 Dilsukhnagar blasts. Ghulam Yazdani, who was described in intelligence material as owing allegiance to DJS, was also accused of links with HuJI and of leading LeT’s network in south India.

Security agencies have also, in previous investigations, examined alleged links between DJS-associated individuals and domestic terror modules involved in assassination plots, including alleged attempts targeting VVIPs. Officials clarified that these past cases are being examined only as background to the present investigation.

Investigators Probe Historical Links

According to a security dossier, after the Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) was banned in September 2001, some of its cadres allegedly sought alternative platforms to continue propagating their ideology. Sambhajinagar, owing to its historical and social links with Hyderabad, allegedly emerged as one of the locations where SIMI activists established contacts with individuals associated with DJS. Such interactions allegedly continued until around 2006.

Investigators believe that following the recovery of a large cache of arms and ammunition and the arrest of pro-SIMI elements in Sambhajinagar and other parts of Maharashtra, DJS distanced itself from such associates to avoid attracting scrutiny under anti-terror laws. DJS has consistently denied any involvement in unlawful or extremist activities.

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Officials suspect that, after more than two decades, elements linked to DJS and the frontal organisation of SIMI may once again be attempting to influence young minds and draw them towards extremist ideology. The investigation remains ongoing.

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