Troubled childhood, did odd jobs in Delhi: Who is the 20-year-old UP youth arrested in terror case | Lucknow News
Krishna Mishra was a troubled 20-year-old, says his family, struggling with drinking issues and forced to become the breadwinner at a young age. However, the terror allegations against him, leading to his arrest, have left the family based in Kushinagar on the Nepal border in shock.
The Uttar Pradesh Police have accused Krishna of links with Pakistani gangster Shahzad Bhatti, in a suspected plot to carry out terror attacks across the state. They arrested him from Gorakhpur last week, and Daniyal Ashraf, 23, of Barabanki the day after. As per police, the lure of easy money, apart from “glamour” was what drew the 20-year-old – who is unlettered and did odd jobs in Delhi – to the alleged terror network.
Officials said Mishra and Ashraf have told police that they first got in touch with Bhati and other Pakistani key figures on Instagram, and that Bhatti promised to make them “heroes” in India if they followed his directions.
The ATS claims to have recovered a country-made 9 mm pistol and cartridges from Ashraf, and a .315 bore country-made pistol with cartridges from Krishna.
The family said Krishna had to start working after his father Chotte Lal Mishra, 52, had to be admitted to a de-addiction centre, first in Gorakhpur and then Deoria due to his alcohol dependence. He has been at home in Belwa Misir area of Kushinagar since Krishna’s arrest.
What Krishna earned helped support the family, including his mother Lali Devi and his elder sister Saloni, 25.
Lali said her husband had previously worked as an e-rickshaw driver, but worsening alcohol dependency left him incapable to continue. “After he was admitted to a de-addiction centre, we became dependent on Krishna’s earnings.” He sent Rs 5,000-Rs 6,000 home every month, with the rental income from a portion of the house that the family let out helping eke out a living, said Lali.
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Neighbours said they saw Krishna “change” before their eyes. Bittu Mishra said he mostly lived in Delhi, but whenever he was back for an occasional visit, he seemed to often be drunk.
Lali said that when Krishna was very young, all of them lived in Delhi and she did odd jobs too like her husband, taking the young boy along to work. Once Krishna grew older, he began working at a tea stall.
However, then came the Covid pandemic, and the family returned to Belwa Misir, selling their ancestral property to buy land and build a house in the village. “The family purchased land in Belwa Misir around eight years ago,” said local corporator Babloo Kharwar.
Soon after the Covid restrictions were lifted, Krishna went back to Delhi in search of work. Lali said he spent around two to three years working as a security guard at a public park, before he fell ill and returned to the village in January this year. After about a month, he went back to Delhi and, as per Lali, called to say he had not gone back to his security job but had taken up “private employment” in Delhi.
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The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) is doing the groundwork before approaching the court to take police custody of Krishna and co-accused Ashraf for further interrogation in connection with the case.
The ATS has said that intelligence suggests that Pakistan-based terror groups are using social media platforms, including Instagram, to influence youth, recruit them as sleeper cells, and radicalise them for terror activities. Bhatti and his network, accused of being part of the plot, are ISI proxies, as per the ATS.
The agency says Krishna and Ashraf were in contact with Bhatti and his aide Abid Jatt, and were part of the plan to target key institutions, police stations, and outposts in Uttar Pradesh and other cities.
ATS officials claim to have found proof of “suspicious” activity tracking Bhatti’s phone numbers, social media contacts, video call recordings, voice notes, and WhatsApp group calls.
