Jaipur: Pakistan-based terror networks were grooming the 37-year-old Jaipur woman as a potential asset before the Rajasthan Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested her for alleged anti-national activities, investigators said, Tuesday as they continued probing her digital footprint and foreign contacts. The accused, Babita Dhakar, a resident of Vatika near Sanganer, was arrested on June 20 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). A court remanded seven days of police custody on June 21. ATS officials said preliminary investigations revealed that Dhakar met Pakistan-based handlers through social media and messaging applications and allegedly underwent online radicalisation over the past several years. According to ATS sources, Dhakar separated from her husband within months of her marriage in 2017 and subsequently spent considerable time online. Investigators are examining a large volume of allegedly radical content recovered from her mobile phone. The probe has also revealed contacts linked to Pakistan and several foreign nationals, officials said. An ATS official claimed that the woman had allegedly been promised passage to Pakistan through Nepal and Saudi Arabia. Investigators, however, are yet to recover her passport and are verifying whether any travel arrangements have been made. Officials said that while her handlers had not assigned her any operational task, investigators suspected she was close to being tasked before security agencies intervened. During questioning, Dhakar told investigators that Pakistani handlers had allegedly influenced her by showing anti-India videos and online content. She also claimed that a cleric administered the kalma to her during an online interaction, after which she adopted the name Khadija, ATS sources said. The ATS earlier said that intelligence inputs led to surveillance of the woman and investigators found evidence of communication through WhatsApp and other digital platforms with individuals suspected to be linked to extremist organisations. Sources said investigators recovered phone numbers allegedly linked to the network of an operative of Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) from her mobile phone. The probe has also revealed alleged links with individuals associated with other suspects. Confirming the arrest earlier, ATS SP Manish Tripathi said the woman came under scrutiny after intelligence inputs suggested her possible involvement in activities posing a threat to national security.
