A 33-year-old man working as a Rapido driver in Mumbai was arrested for having suspected links with the banned terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and making controversial remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in radical social media posts.
“I never felt like he would do something like this. I used to see him sitting outside and spoke to him. This comes days after the attack on Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff in Mumbai. One of the accused involved in the shooting had also worked as a Rapido rider, and under the cover of his job, conducted surveillance in upscale neighbourhoods in the city where Bollywood celebrities reside. “We are deeply concerned by the incident involving Mr. Tiger Shroff and his team, and we are relieved that he is safe. We wish him a swift recovery. We are aware of media reports mentioning an individual registered as a captain on the Rapido platform. He has not been active as a captain on our platform since 14th October. As is common in India’s larger gig economy, individuals may be registered with several platforms at the same time. In July, the Gujarat ATS detained five people during an investigation into an alleged terror module linked to JeM.
Officials have seized a Redmi Note 14 Pro mobile phone from Akhtar and secured 39 screenshots of his objectionable social media activity for the investigation. Akhtar’s neighbour told IANS that he had been living in a rented flat for the past 3 to 3.5 years. The ride-hailing service, however, said that the attacker had not been active on the platform since October 14.
He used to sell perfume here and then worked at night somewhere else…never thought of him as a bad man,” he said. The neighbour, however, said that if any person betrays the country, then they must be punished. On the day of the incident, the individual had used Rapido’s services as a customer,” the company said in a post on X.
