Mumbai: The Kerala Police, with the assistance of the Navi Mumbai unit of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), have arrested a 20-year-old Airoli resident for allegedly conducting reconnaissance of sensitive Jewish establishments and foreign nationals in Mumbai and sharing the information with anti-national elements through encrypted social media platforms.
The accused, identified as Yash Singh, holds an Industrial Training Institute (ITI) qualification from an institute affiliated with the University of Mumbai and was unemployed. According to investigators, he came into contact with handlers linked to anti-national elements and transnational criminal networks via Telegram and other encrypted messaging platforms. During technical surveillance and field verification, the ATS found that Singh had been tasked with conducting physical reconnaissance of sensitive locations in South Mumbai—specifically the Chabad House Synagogue in Colaba and other establishments associated with Jewish nationals. He was allegedly instructed to photograph and transmit real-time details of foreign and Jewish nationals, their vehicle registration numbers, movement patterns, and precise locations.
Airoli Youth Allegedly Recruited Through Telegram
According to intelligence sources, Singh had been in contact with members of criminal and gangster networks over Telegram and other encrypted platforms for a considerable period, though he was assigned the specific surveillance task around 15 days ago. He allegedly received approximately Rs 25,000 in multiple instalments for executing the reconnaissance assignments, sources said.
The investigation has revealed alleged links between Singh and a case registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) at the Thrissur East police station in Kerala.Before Singh's arrest, a special team of the Thrissur East Police had apprehended a 27-year-old Tamil Nadu native, identified as Gurumoorthi, from Ottapalam in Kerala's Palakkad district on November 12. Gurumoorthi had previously worked as a photographer in Mumbai and had a registered address in Navi Mumbai and kandivali west,allegedly used his professional access to photograph prominent Bollywood celebrities, track their daily movements and whereabouts, and pass the intelligence on to members of the Bishnoi gang operating from abroad.
Tiger Shroff Among Bollywood Personalities Allegedly Monitored
Investigators allege that Gurumoorthi had tracked the movements of several Bollywood personalities, including actor Tiger Shroff, and transmitted their photographs and whereabouts to handlers through Telegram. He is suspected to have received payments for these activities through his wife's bank account in Udumalpet, Tamil Nadu. He had reportedly moved to Kerala around four to seven months before his arrest and was working at a local milk booth.
Forensic examination of Gurumoorthi's mobile phone allegedly exposed communications with foreign-based handlers, photographs taken during reconnaissance of Bollywood personalities in Mumbai and financial transactions routed through his wife's bank account.
Mobile Phone Examination Allegedly Reveals Handler Communications
According to sources, Gurumoorthi initially worked on the instructions of foreign-based handlers but subsequently developed his own recruitment network by approaching young men on social media who were attracted to terrorist activities and gangster lifestyles. He allegedly recruited them and assigned them suspicious activities. Investigators allege that Singh was among those recruited through this network and was tasked with conducting ground-level surveillance in Mumbai. Gurumoorthi allegedly acted as an intermediary, passing on instructions from foreign-based handlers to Singh and paying him after receiving funds from the foreign-based operatives. The Rs 25,000 allegedly paid to Singh was routed through this arrangement, sources said.
Technical mapping of Telegram groups and handler networks uncovered during the probe led investigators to contacts operating across Haryana and Mumbai, eventually zeroing in on Yash Singh in Airoli. After establishing his alleged links to the Thrissur East case, the Navi Mumbai ATS alerted the Kerala Police. A special team from Thrissur subsequently arrived in Navi Mumbai, questioned Singh and arrested him for his alleged role in the wider conspiracy targeting Jewish establishments.
Investigators are also probing whether the network used a similar modus operandi in the October 12, 2026, arson attack on the historic Kadavumbhagam Synagogue in Kochi, a case in which the Kerala Police have invoked UAPA provisions. Gurumoorthi has also been questioned over his suspected links to the attack.
Investigators are now examining whether the same network of foreign-based handlers and local intermediaries used Telegram and other encrypted platforms to recruit ground operatives, assign reconnaissance targets and coordinate activities against Jewish establishments in Maharashtra and Kerala.
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