Western UP Becoming a Safe Haven for Terror Networks, Police on Alert from Meerut to Deoband

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Meerut / Western Uttar Pradesh: Security agencies have raised the alarm over the growing use of pockets in western Uttar Pradesh as hideouts and transit routes by suspected terror operatives. Officials say networks stretching from Meerut to Deoband and across districts such as Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Saharanpur, Hapur and Pilkhua are under intense scrutiny after intelligence pointed to repeated links between the region and several high-profile incidents elsewhere in the country.

Proximity to the national capital and porous movement corridors make these districts attractive for clandestine activity, officers told reporters. Small towns and densely populated peri‑urban settlements between Meerut and Saharanpur provide cover where outsiders can blend in, enabling suspects to establish temporary bases or sleeper cells with relative ease.

Targeted surveillance, detailed lists of suspects
Police and intelligence units have reportedly compiled comprehensive lists of individuals with past records — including arrests in terror‑related cases, alleged ties to foreign handlers, or suspected sleeper‑cell activity. Forces are attempting to track current whereabouts, occupations and networks of contact of these persons to pre-empt threats.

Deoband — known for its large religious institutions — has featured repeatedly in agency assessments. Officials are at pains to stress that such scrutiny is aimed at specific individuals and factions, not at religious institutions or the broader community, which must not be stigmatized.

Past investigations point to recurring patterns
Investigations into terror incidents in cities such as Delhi, Pune, Jaipur, Lucknow and Varanasi over the last decade have, on multiple occasions, led to suspects from western UP. These recurring links have sharpened agency focus on the zone and prompted stepped‑up operations.

“Mission Clean Network” underway
Meerut‑zone police have launched what sources describe as a “Mission Clean Network” campaign — intensified monitoring of suspicious residences, certain madrasas and rental accommodations, and verification of migrant populations. The stated aim is to dismantle any emerging cells before they can consolidate or strike.

Officials say the exercise combines local policing with inputs from state and central intelligence agencies. Community cooperation, they add, will be critical in isolating radical elements while preserving communal harmony.

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