The accused, Marghoob, had added many persons from India as well as other countries, including Pakistan, Bangladesh and Yemen, to the group, which was also active on other social media platforms such as Telegram and BiP Messenger, said the NIA. "Aimed at radicalizing impressionable youth in the name of the establishment of Ghazwa-e-Hind over the territory of India, the group was being operated by Pakistan-based suspects," reveals NIA investigation.

The raids were conducted at the premises of suspects in Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh, Gir Somnath district of Gujarat, Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh and Kozhikode district of Kerala.

The raids revealed links of the suspects, whose premises were searched earlier on the day with Pakistan-based handlers.

"These suspects were in contact with the handlers, and were involved in propagating the radical, anti-India idea of Gazwa-e-Hind," said the agency.

The raids led to the seizure of incriminating documents and digital devices like mobile phones, and SIM cards. Several documents were also seized during the NIA crackdown, as part of the ongoing investigations in the case, commonly referred to as the Gazwa-e-Hind case, Patna (Bihar).

The case was initially registered on July 14 last year by Phulwarisharif Police in the Patna district of Bihar, following the arrest of one Marghoob Ahmad Danish alias Tahir. Marghoob was the admin of WhatsApp Group 'Ghazwa-e-Hind', created by a Pakistnational identified as Zain.

The accused, Marghoob, had added many persons from India as well as other countries, including Pakistan, Bangladesh and Yemen, to the group, which was also active on other social media platforms such as Telegram and BiP Messenger, said the NIA.

"Aimed at radicalizing impressionable youth in the name of the establishment of Ghazwa-e-Hind over the territory of India, the group was being operated by Pakistan-based suspects," reveals NIA investigation.

As per the investigations, the NIA said, Marghoob was trying to motivate the group members with an ulterior objective of raising sleeper cells for carrying out terrorist activities across India.

"Further, the accused had created another WhatsApp group in the name of 'BDGhazwa E HindBD', to which he had added Bangladeshi nationals," said the federal agency.

The NIA has been probing the case since July 22 last year, when it took over the investigations.

The anti-terror agency had filed a chargesheet against accused Marghoob Ahmad Danish on January 6 this year under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.