Mumbai Man Arrested for Conducting Surveillance of Chabad House Targeted In 2008 Terror Attack
by CrownHeights.info
A 20-year-old man has been arrested in India after allegedly conducting surveillance of Mumbai’s Chabad House, known as Nariman House, and gathering intelligence on other Jewish-related locations throughout the city, raising renewed security concerns for the Chabad-Lubavitch community.
The suspect, identified as Yash Singh, a resident of Airoli in Navi Mumbai, was reportedly recruited through social media by individuals connected to international criminal networks and anti-national elements. According to Indian law enforcement officials, he was assigned to photograph and document sensitive locations in South Mumbai, with particular attention to the Colaba neighborhood, where the Chabad House is located.
According to reports in The Indian Express, NDTV and other Indian news outlets, Singh was instructed to photograph and pinpoint the precise location of Nariman House, as well as Jewish-owned businesses and locations frequented by Jewish residents and foreign nationals. Investigators say he also collected information about vehicles and other identifying details in the area, allegedly sharing the information with his handlers in exchange for payment.
The assignments were reportedly coordinated through social media and messaging platforms, including Telegram, Instagram and WhatsApp. Officials said the individuals directing Singh were connected to criminal syndicates and subversive elements operating through online networks.
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) initially detained Singh after receiving intelligence about his alleged online connections. During questioning, investigators reportedly uncovered links between Singh and an individual already arrested in a separate terrorism-related investigation in Kerala.
The case is being investigated by police in Thrissur, Kerala, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Following information provided by the Maharashtra ATS, a team of Kerala Police officers traveled to Navi Mumbai and formally arrested Singh in connection with the investigation.
Authorities have also warned that international criminal networks, including networks allegedly associated with Pakistan-based criminal figure Shahzad Bhatti, have been using social media to recruit unemployed and financially vulnerable young people, offering them money to photograph sensitive locations and gather intelligence.
The arrest carries particular significance for the Chabad-Lubavitch movement because Nariman House was one of the principal targets of the devastating November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
During the coordinated attacks, ten terrorists belonging to the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba organization carried out a series of shootings and bombings across Mumbai, killing 166 people and injuring hundreds more.
At Nariman House, terrorists stormed the Chabad-Lubavitch center and took control of the building, holding residents hostage during a prolonged siege.
Among those murdered were the Chabad shluchim Rabbi Gavriel and Rebbetzin Rivka Holtzberg HY”D, who had dedicated their lives to serving Jewish residents and travelers in Mumbai. Several other Jewish visitors and Indian security personnel were also killed at the site.
Their young son, Moshe, then just two years old, miraculously survived after being rescued by his Indian nanny, Sandra Samuel.
The building was subsequently restored and reopened as a Jewish center, preserving the presence of Chabad-Lubavitch in Mumbai and serving as a lasting tribute to the Holtzbergs and the other victims of the attack.
The latest arrest comes just days before November 26, marking 18 years since the attacks that forever changed the Mumbai Jewish community and left a deep wound throughout the Chabad-Lubavitch world.
