A 20-year-old man has been arrested in Mumbai for allegedly carrying out reconnaissance of Nariman House, the Jewish centre in Colaba that was attacked during the 26/11 terror strikes in 2008. Police identified the accused as Yash Singh, a resident of Airoli in Navi Mumbai.
The Navi Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested Singh on Saturday, 14 November, after receiving information about his suspected contact with an international criminal network through social media. Officers said he had been photographing Jewish citizens, their institutions and foreign nationals in the city, and recording vehicle details and exact locations, while he carried out surveillance in the area.
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad handles terror-related cases in the state, and its Navi Mumbai unit acted on information about Singh’s online contacts. Officers said the tip-off pointed to his links with an international criminal network, and the squad moved in after tracking his activity on social media.
Nariman House was the main target of the recce
According to police, Singh was told to focus on Chabad House in Colaba, also known as Nariman House. His assignments included photographing the building, pinpointing its exact location and collecting information about Jewish-owned businesses and areas frequented by foreign nationals.
Police said Singh was working at the direction of foreign handlers and had been paid for the work. Reports said he received about Rs 25,000, and that he had been recruited through Telegram, Instagram and WhatsApp. Officials said networks of this kind target unemployed young people and those facing financial hardship.
Chabad House in Colaba serves Mumbai’s Jewish community and visitors, offering prayer services, meals and a place to stay. It was restored after the 2008 attacks and remains a place of worship and a community centre, with security around the building tightened since the attacks.
Nariman House is a five-storey Jewish religious and community centre in Colaba. During the 26/11 attacks in November 2008, terrorists stormed the building and killed six people there, including Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg and his wife, Rivka Holtzberg. The attacks across Mumbai killed at least 166 people and left around 300 injured.
Nariman House case linked to Kerala probe
The investigation widened after the Navi Mumbai ATS found links between Singh’s activities around Nariman House and a case registered in Thrissur, Kerala, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). A team from Kerala Police travelled to Navi Mumbai and took Singh into custody after examining his alleged role in the conspiracy.
The UAPA is India’s main anti-terror law, and cases under it are investigated by state police and central agencies. The Thrissur East case, to which Singh’s activities were linked, was registered before his arrest, and Kerala Police said his online activity connected him to an accused already held in that case.
Singh was first held by the Navi Mumbai ATS and then handed over to Kerala Police in the Thrissur case. Investigators said they found technical links from Telegram connecting Singh to an accused already arrested in the Thrissur East investigation and to a Kerala-linked intermediary who routed instructions and funds.
Officials said foreign-based crime syndicates, including the Pakistan-based Shahzad Bhatti network, were using social media to contact young people in India and recruit them to carry out surveillance of sites such as Nariman House. The ATS said groups linked to the network had been approaching unemployed youngsters through Telegram, Instagram and WhatsApp.
No attack plan confirmed in Nariman House case
Police have not announced the discovery of a specific attack plan, and no imminent threat has been publicly confirmed. The arrest has still raised security concerns, and Chabad’s global security centre issued an advisory urging its centres to strengthen precautions after the reports.
The case has drawn attention because the methods mirror the reconnaissance carried out before the 2008 attacks. David Coleman Headley, an American of Pakistani origin working with Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, photographed targets across Mumbai before the strikes, including Nariman House, and passed the information to the attackers.
Singh remains in custody as police in Maharashtra and Kerala examine his phone and online accounts. Forensic teams in both states are working to decrypt the data he transmitted, and investigators are tracing the chain of local contacts and foreign payments behind the Nariman House surveillance.