On Sunday, February 15, 2026, Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) launched a major search operation in Yavatmal and Ahilyanagar districts. They raided 21 locations suspected of extremist activities. Among these, 14 were in Yavatmal and the rest in Ahilyanagar. The teams questioned 14 suspects but made no arrests. The raids took place in sensitive areas like Umarkhed and Pusad. The ATS suspected that some local individuals had links with terrorist groups and were radicalising youth. During searches in Ahilyanagar, swords were found and seized. In Yavatmal, several objectionable electronic gadgets and CCTV devices were also confiscated for examination. Yavatmal Superintendent of Police Kumar Chintha said, "House searches have been carried out at 13 locations in Pusad, and one in Umarkhed, which are highly sensitive areas. The ATS has been keeping watch on their movement for days and has now initiated the searches. The ATS has seized their documents, laptops, books, and mobile phones over objectionable content. The search started early in the morning, around 3 a.m., and ended at 12 p.m. on Sunday. We provided bandobast to them to avoid untoward events." The ATS confirmed that no arrests were made yet and that detailed investigations are ongoing. The operation was legally authorized and executed within the jurisdiction of the Vasant Nagar police station in Pusad city. The ATS emphasized that probing will continue to uncover more about the alleged extremist links.