Bengaluru Engineer Named in MHA Terror List Over LeT, Al-Qaeda, ISIS Links
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has designated Mohammed Shahid Faisal, a 42-year-old engineering graduate from Bengaluru, as a terrorist, placing him on a list of 23 individuals released on July 4. Faisal, also known as Zakir Ustad, fled India in 2013 following the discovery of an alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) conspiracy case in 2012.
According to the MHA list, Faisal holds Pakistani nationality, originally Indian, and is currently active in Rawalpindi. He is described as being affiliated with LeT, Al-Qaeda, and the Islamic State (ISIS). The list includes 17 Pakistanis and six Indians, all of whom are said to operate terrorist activities from Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Faisal, a computer science engineering graduate from a prominent private engineering college in North Bengaluru, was reportedly known for his hacking skills during his college days. He is alleged to have been drawn to radical Islam by local and online preachers.
The MHA states that Faisal is the key mastermind and handler behind the 2012 Bengaluru LeT conspiracy case and the 2013 Nanded LeT case, which involved plots for targeted killings of right-wing politicians and journalists. He fled to Pakistan in 2013 with the assistance of terrorist Farhatullah Ghori.
Investigations have identified Faisal as an online handler in several recent terror incidents, including the Rameshwaram Cafe blast in Bengaluru in March 2024, the Mangaluru autorickshaw blast in November 2023, and the Al-Hind ISIS module case. He is accused of recruiting youth through anti-national and jihadist videos shared on social media platforms such as YouTube and Telegram channels like 'Sawat-al-Haq'.
In the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case, Faisal is named as accused number six. He is alleged to have sent DIY bomb-making videos and thousands of rupees through cryptocurrencies to Abdul Matheen Taha, a co-accused, for running terror operations in South India since 2020. Faisal was also identified as a common handler for groups in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Police sources link Faisal to two other ongoing cases in Karnataka from 2021 and 2022, including a trial blast case in Shivamogga and a cooker blast in Mangaluru.
