E-Paper
Pan-India ISIS network busted as NIA raids 9 places, nabs one
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted raids in multiple states in India as part of a crackdown on the ISIS Jharkhand module. One person was arrested in Madhya Pradesh and two others were detained in Uttar Pradesh. The raids were conducted in connection with the case of Faizan Ansari, a student at Aligarh Muslim University, who was arrested earlier this year for his alleged involvement with ISIS. The NIA seized incriminating material during the raids.
The arrest of 19-year-old Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) student Faizan Ansari alias Faiz, a resident of Lohardaga district of Jharkhand, from Aligarh on July 18 earlier this year had apparently blew the lid off pan-India network of global terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
While probing Faizan’s network, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday raided nine locations in a multi-state crackdown on the ISIS Jharkhand module case. These places included three east U.P. districts too. During the raids, the NIA arrested one person from Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh for his alleged role in the conspiracy to spread terror in the region while two others were detained in U.P. for questioning.
The NIA officials said the raids were conducted in Maharajganj, Azamgarh and Jaunpur districts of Uttar Pradesh, Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh, Ludhiana in Punjab, South Goa in Goa, Yadgir in Karnataka and Mumbai in Maharashtra. In a press note shared with media, the NIA officials said the case related to the ISIS module that was exposed with the arrest of Faizan Ansari. They said he had come in contact with radicalised individuals connected with the ISIS during his stay near the AMU campus.
The NIA officials said the searches were conducted on the premises of suspects at nine locations across six states as part of the crackdown during which one Rahul Sen alias Omar alias Omar Bahadur (23) was arrested from Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh and a host of incriminating material, including electronic and digital devices, one knife, a veil and several ISIS related documents were seized.
The officials said Omar was arrested for his active role in the terror conspiracy, including dissemination of ISIS propaganda through social media platforms for radicalisation and recruitment of gullible youth for carrying out various terror related activities.
They said the investigation had revealed that Faizan along with his associates and other unknown people had hatched the Jharkhand terror module conspiracy through social media platforms with an intention to aid and abet terror activities by providing active support to the ISIS, a proscribed terrorist organisation, and disseminate the outfit’s propaganda.
They said the conspiracy was aimed at unleashing violent terror attacks in India on behalf of the ISIS and recruiting youngsters to work for the banned outfit. They said Faizan, a B.A. Hons (economics) student of AMU, used to stay at a lodge near the university campus.
While studying at the AMU, he met some radicalised individuals who were in contact with ISIS operatives. They formed a closed group which was trying to influence others to join ISIS. In U.P.’s Maharajganj, the NIA carried out a search at the house of Unani doctor in Vikas Nagar locality of Anand Nagar area under Farenda police station limits of Maharajganj. A local cop said the doctor’s son-in-law, a native of Bihar’s Siwan district, was suspected to be associated with the same network.
He said the NIA team stayed there for around six hours and searched the entire house and took the doctor’s son-in-law to its Lucknow office for further questioning after seizing his laptop and mobile as well as some documents. He said the NIA was investigating links of the doctor’s son-in-law with Faizan Ansari during his stay in Aligarh. He said the doctor’s son-in-law, who also studied at AMU, reportedly stayed with Faizan at his rented room in Aligarh.
Meanwhile, the NIA carried out a search at the house of a local lawyer at Friends Colony of Badrakha locality in Azamgarh district and stayed there for three hours. As per a senior police official, the lawyer’s son and other family members were staying in Lucknow and the lawyer’s son was suspected of having links with the ISIS operatives. He said the lawyer’s son and daughter were also questioned and further probe was under way.
