'Voice of Khurasan' among 114 radical publications Maharashtra orders confiscated

Mumbai: In one of Maharashtra's biggest crackdowns on extremist propaganda, the state government has ordered the confiscation of 114 radical publications, digital magazines, recruitment pamphlets and terror training manuals linked to banned organisations including ISIS, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).

Issued through a gazette notification by the Home Department, the order empowers police across India to seize both physical and digital copies of the listed material. Authorities said the publications were being used to spread violent extremist ideology, recruit vulnerable youth and promote activities threatening India's sovereignty and public order.

Among the confiscated material are 47 issues of the ISIS magazine 'Voice of Khurasan', propaganda pamphlets such as 'Why Should You Join the Islamic State' and 'Are You Still Sitting?', as well as publications linked to Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and AQIS.

The notification also covers operational manuals allegedly teaching the preparation of explosives, petrol bombs, suicide rockets, anonymous communication and operational security.

The action follows intelligence inputs and cyber surveillance by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which recommended the crackdown after investigations found the material violated multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.

Invoking Section 98 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, the government has also authorised magistrates to issue search warrants, allowing police officers not below the rank of Sub-Inspector to search premises suspected of storing or distributing the banned material.

Officials said removing these publications from print, digital platforms and social media is aimed at disrupting online radicalisation networks and preventing extremist recruitment, particularly among impressionable youth.