Jaipur: Rajasthan Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) is examining deleted data recovered from the mobile phone of Babita Dhakad, arrested last month for allegedly working for the banned terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), as investigators probe what they suspect could be the state ‘s first attempt to groom a woman as a sleeper cell operative.Officials said the handset has been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) to retrieve erased chats, media files and other digital evidence that could establish the extent of her alleged network and identify others who may have been targeted for recruitment. Investigators are also scrutinising more than 100 suspicious social media profiles and questioning several of her alleged online contacts.According to ATS officials, preliminary analysis of the seized phone revealed alleged online communication with one Yusuf Azhar alias Ustad Ghouri, one of the JeM operatives, and others like Qari Zarar. The agency is verifying the authenticity of these contacts with assistance from the National Investigation Agency (NIA).Investigators said she allegedly operated a Facebook account and had around 370 accounts on her friends list, many of which are suspected to have originated from Pakistan and other countries. Three of those accounts have allegedly been identified as belonging to active JeM operatives.Officials said two SIM cards were recovered from her phone and that she allegedly deleted a substantial amount of data before her arrest. They believe the recovered digital evidence could reveal whether she was being groomed as part of a broader female recruitment module and whether similar attempts were made to radicalise others.The ATS has extracted records of around 100 suspicious contacts from her devices and is matching them with the NIA ‘s database. Several phone numbers recovered from her contact list, including one suspected to have been used by Qari Zarar, are also being verified as part of the investigation.Officials maintained that the investigation is at a crucial stage, and further action will depend on the forensic analysis and verification of the digital evidence.
