High stake operation In a high-stakes operation against terror networks, Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (UP ATS) and Delhi Police Special Cell raided Kushinagar district on April 4, 2026 and arrested a suspected ISIS operative. This joint operation wiped out a fledgling radical outfit that was threatening northern India known as Mohammad Riyazuddin ( alias Riyaz ), a 32 year old of Padrauna tehsil.
The raid took place at 4 AM in Bhatwalia village and it was preceded by several months of intelligence work by the intel wing of the Delhi Police. Riyaz, a former scrap dealer and now a radical was detained in his rented hideout with evidence: Videos of ISIS propaganda, encrypted messages via Telegram with instructions to attack, bomb-making instructions. In 2024, he has sworn allegiance to ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K) in forums of the dark web, enlisting locals to participate in fidayeen attacks, which are suicide attacks, in attacks on UP religious targets. A senior officer associated him to 2025 Delhi module busts when he claimed that he was funding arms smuggling at Nepal border.
This arrest points to the increasing trails of ISIS in porous borders in Uttar Pradesh. Nepal has become a center of radicalization, with 15 ISIS-related arrests reported by UP since 2023 in Kushinagar. Riyaz radicalized five young people, Deoria and Maharajganj, and trained them in assembling IED with the help of household chemicals. There were 2 kg ammonium nitrate, detonators, and a pistol that was linked to Bihar networks. Real time surveillance led to interrogations after his escape plan was discovered as he was about to enter Nepal.
UP CM Yogi Adityanath rejoiced with the op and stated that it was zero-tolerance towards terrorism and the informants were given rewards worth 5 lakh. Delhi Police, on its part, with its credit to the human intelligence, and not gadgets, performed well working under the umbrella of NIA. This is akin to the raid of the Meerut ISIS cell the previous year in which explosives were acquired to put Diwali down.
Researchers estimate that there will be an ISIS online recruitment boom following the world shutdowns in 2024. Modus operandi: lure the unemployed young generation with jihadism glory, notes counter-terror observer Ajit Doval. UP ATS now probes 20 more leads in Gorakhpur division.
The bust is the measure that helps to avoid potential carnage, but the problems are still present: encrypted applications, cross-border smuggling, and the disillusionment of the youth. Additional patrolling of the UP-Nepal, AI-driven social media monitoring, and deradicalization is an emergency. Riyaz is accused of UAPA and custody conflicts pending. This Kushinagar assault repeats the will of khaki- nothing to compare to vigilant operations as India warrants sleeper cells.
