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NIA finds international link in Maha ISIS module case
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a charge-sheet against six individuals arrested from Maharashtra for their alleged involvement in recruitment and fundraising for ISIS. The NIA claims to have uncovered a larger conspiracy with international linkages and the involvement of foreign-based ISIS handlers. The accused were charged under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Indian Penal Code. They were found to be actively propagating the extremist ideology of ISIS and planning acts of terrorism.
MUMBAI: In its charge-sheet filed against six persons arrested from the state for their alleged involvement in recruitment and fund-raising for Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a global terrorist organization, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has claimed to have unraveled “a larger conspiracy with international linkages and the involvement of foreign-based ISIS handlers”.
“The investigations have exposed a complex network of individuals committed to propagating the extremist and violent ideology of ISIS in India,” the agency sources said.
The accused named in the charge sheet are city resident Tabish Nasser Siddiqui, Padgha residents Zulfikar Ali Barodawala aka Lalabhai, Sharjeel Shaikh and Aakif Ateeque Nachan and Zubair Noor Mohammad Shaikh aka Abu Nusaiba and Dr Adnanali Sarkar from Pune.
According to NIA, they are all members of the terror outfit and had hatched a conspiracy to further the activities of the organization, with the intention to strike fear and terror among the people and threaten the security of India.
Two of these accused, Barodawala and Nachan, have been earlier charge-sheeted by the federal agency in the Pune ISIS module case for fabrication of Improvised Explosive Devices for triggering blasts.
The accused, charged under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Indian Penal Code, were engaged in actively propagating the violent and extremist ideology of ISIS and in carrying out acts preparatory to terrorist violence through recruitment of individuals to the organisation and its cause. Two accused, Tabish and Zulfikar, had taken an oath of allegiance (Bayath) to the self-styled Khalifa (leader) of ISIS.
The NIA has also found that the accused were in possession of material related to Hijrah to Syria, along with propaganda magazines like ‘Voice of Hind’ and ‘Voice of Khurasan’ published by ISIS and they were sharing DIY (Do It Yourself) kits with their contacts. The agency said the accused were also found to be raising funds to finance their terror plans and designs.
The Mumbai unit of the NIA had registered a case on June 28, 2023, against Tabish Nasser Siddiqui and others, following information received by the Ministry of Home Affairs regarding the conspiracy hatched by them to wage a war against the government by promoting terrorist activities.
