New terror network keeps K’taka’s intel dept on alert

The officer said the group wanted to create an Islamic State caliphate in the jungle of Karnataka. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has conducted raids in the Kodagu district after learning that the members of the network had taken “a jungle survival course” in the district in May 2022

The Karnataka intelligence department is on alert after satellite phone signals were detected in the border region between the state and Kerala on Friday, as the development comes days after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested two alleged operatives of the terror group Islamic State (IS) from Shivamogga district, police officials said, pointing out that the recent terror-related incidents hint at a homegrown network posing a threat to security.

A day after the blast in an autorickshaw in Mangaluru, in which two people, including prime accused Mohammed Shariq (24), were injured, state police chief Praveen Sood had declared the incident an “act of terror with the intention to cause serious damage”. (PTI)

The two alleged IS operatives -- Reshaan Thajuddin Sheikh of Udupi district and Huzair Farhan Baig of Shivamogga -- were arrested after the NIA raided six locations in the state in connection with a conspiracy hatched by the terror group to further its activities in India, the agency said in statement on Thursday.

The raids were conducted at six locations in Dakshina Kannada, Shivamogga, Davanagere and Bengaluru districts. “Investigations have revealed that the accused Maaz Muneer radicalised his close associate and college-mate Reshaan Thajuddin Sheikh. And the two accused, Sheikh and Baig, received funds from their ISIS handler through crypto-wallets for furthering the terrorist activities of the Islamic State,” said the statement.

Maaz Muneer was arrested by Shivamogga police in September 2022. He was an associate of one of accused arrested in connection with the stabbing incident during a clash over VD Savarkar’s poster in Shivamogga in October last year, according to the police.

The duo receiving funds using crypto-wallets is the latest revelation involving a network that has been of interest to the investigation agencies, said an official in the know of the matter.The Karnataka police official on the condition of anonymity said that what earlier “appeared to be isolated incidents” are now emerging to have been carried out by “members of a network”.

A day after the blast in an autorickshaw in Mangaluru, in which two people, including the prime accused Mohammed Shariq (24), were injured, state police chief Praveen Sood on November 20 had declared the incident an “act of terror with the intention to cause serious damage”.

During the probe, police found “videos on how to make a bike bomb, and a cooker bomb from Shariq’s phone,” an official said. The investigation also pointed out that the nature of the IED shows that the group didn’t have large funding or support.

Police identified the material used to make the IED has potassium chlorate, which is used to manufacture match boxes and crackers. The police recovered 150 matchboxes, sulphur powder and gunpowder from a Mysuru house where Shariq had stayed earlier.

After NIA took over the case, two old cases involving him had become of interest to the investigating agency. Police arrested Shariq in December 2020. The arrest was the result of an investigation into pro-terror graffiti on the walls of a building in the East police station limits and on a wall in the North police station limits. Police arrested Shariq and Mazz Muneer Ahmed, aka, Mazz, who was then 21 years old.

It was two years later, in September Shariq’s name cropped up in another terror-related case. Shivamogga police on September 23 had said that two associates of a person arrested in connection with the stabbing incident during a clash over Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar’s poster in Shivamogga on August 15 have links to the Islamic State.

One of the four arrested men told police that Mazz, who was arrested along with Shariq in the graffiti case was an associate. When police took Mazz into custody, he told police that along with Shariq, he had conducted trial bomb blasts along the banks of the Tungabhadra river.

An officer who investigated the case said that during raids carried out in 11 locations as part of the investigation police seized 14 mobiles, two laptops, remnants of the experimental bomb found at the site of the blast, materials required to make bombs and the half-burnt Indian national flag.

Explaining the findings of the investigation, the officer said that in the days following Independence Day, the national flag of India was burnt near the spot where the bomb was experimented and it was video graphed on their mobile phones.

“The accused profess the ideology of Islamic State. They were of the view that India got independence merely from the British. But the real independence would be achieved only after establishing a caliphate in the forests of Karnataka and enforcing Sharia law.” the officer said.

The senior intelligence official said that the two people arrested by NIA are connected to Maaz. “Earlier, the graffiti and Shivamogga cases seemed isolated, but Shariq has been the connecting factor between the cases. People who were involved in the graffiti case were either directly involved, or have recruited someone who was involved in the cases such as the stabbing on Independence Day, trial blast or the latest money trail. Our investigation so far has shown that this is a homegrown group from Thirthahalli, who were known to each other and were influenced by the online content,” said the officer.

The officer said the group wanted to create an Islamic State caliphate in the jungle of Karnataka. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has conducted raids in the Kodagu district after learning that the members of the network had taken “a jungle survival course” in the district in May 2022.

The NIA has searched the presidents of the homestay where the Shariq was staying and details on the training he underwent have been collected, said police. The homestay comes under the jurisdiction of T Shettigeri village panchayat and is adjacent to a tea estate. According to police, Shariq along with these other took training here in May, months before they tested a bomb in Shivamogga district.

“This network is an example of how online radicalisation can pose a threat to security. Even though NIA claims they have received money through cryptocurrency, their logistics network isn’t strong. That is the reason why Shariq had to make a bomb with matchsticks. Another point to be noted is that after the Indian Mujahideen has become weak, the network between homegrown terror groups isn’t strong. This is one of the reasons why someone like Shariq was not able to get in touch with the group in Coimbatore, who had a large supply of explosives,” the officer added.

A former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) officer, who was not willing to be named, said that in the recent activities where self-radicalised groups are able to carry out low-intensity blasts and other terror activities, the approach of the intelligence agencies has changed as well.

“Earlier, when there was an increase in the number of people getting influenced by online material, there was an attempt to re-radicalise. Which was done by the IB and others with the help of local leaders. Now, the NIA and others are cracking down on such modules. We hear about raids that are being carried out by the NIA across the state and this is one of the reasons why these groups are not able to network with each other or pool in resources. There is a great amount of pressure on such self-radicalised groups. The fact that a bomber in Mangalore had to make an IED with matchsticks says something,” the former IPS officer said.