New Delhi: Bengaluru Police have arrested a 25-year-old man from West Bengal over alleged online links with a person suspected to be associated with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and are investigating his reported plans to travel to Afghanistan. The case has drawn attention to how online contacts can potentially connect individuals in India with extremist operating beyond the country’s borders.
The man, identified as Asafool Mallik, is from Naopara village in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district. He had been staying near APC Circle in Jigani on Bengaluru’s outskirts and working as a security guard in the Jigani Industrial Area since December 2025, according to police accounts reported by NDTV.
The case reportedly came to light after police personnel patrolling the Bommasandra Industrial Area received information about the activities of a West Bengal resident. Mallik was subsequently questioned and his mobile phone examined.
Subsequent reports said a case had been registered at Hebbagodi police station under Section 113(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), a provision covering conspiracy, abetment, attempt, advocacy, incitement or knowing facilitation of a terrorist act. NDTV’s initial report had described Mallik as having been detained, while later reports said he had been formally arrested.
Suspected TTP contact under investigation
At the centre of the investigation are Mallik’s alleged communications with a person identified as Imran Haider, who police believe is in Afghanistan and associated with the TTP.
Police allege that the two established contact through Facebook and that Mallik subsequently sought Haider’s assistance to travel to Afghanistan. Investigators say he had obtained a passport and applied for a visa as part of the proposed journey.
Mallik reportedly told police that he later abandoned the plan because of financial difficulties and his responsibility towards his family.
Police have also alleged that Mallik expressed anger over what he believed were actions by Pakistan’s military against Muslims in Pakistan, including attacks affecting mosques and civilians, as well as Islamabad’s position on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Investigators are examining allegations that conversations also involved possible retaliatory violence against the Pakistan Army and in India.
Digital trail becomes central to probe
Mallik’s mobile phone has emerged as a key part of the investigation.
Police allegedly found chats with Haider along with records of voice calls and audio conversations. Investigators are analysing the material to determine the nature and extent of the relationship and whether the communications progressed beyond discussion towards recruitment, facilitation, travel, planning for violence.
That distinction is significant. Contact with a person suspected of extremist links does not by itself establish membership of a prohibited organisation or participation in a terrorist conspiracy. Investigators will have to establish the context, intent and nature of the communications through digital and other evidence.
Police are also examining whether other individuals were involved or whether Mallik acted independently. No wider network connected with him has been publicly established so far.
Cross-border connection raises preventive-security questions
For Indian security agencies, the wider relevance of the case lies in the alleged combination of online contact with an individual abroad and a reported attempt to travel towards a conflict-affected region.
Digital platforms can allow individuals to establish direct communication across national borders without the physical intermediaries traditionally associated with recruitment or facilitation networks. In this case, however, investigators have yet to establish whether Mallik’s alleged exchanges amounted to recruitment or an operational relationship.
The Afghanistan element also requires careful distinction. Police allege that Mallik wanted to travel there with Haider’s assistance. That does not establish a connection with Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities or any other Afghan organisation.
Similarly, the reported TTP connection rests on the police assessment that Haider was associated with the group. The publicly available evidence has not independently established Haider’s status or Mallik’s membership of the TTP.