Terror suspects, IS recruiter sent to custody by Mumbai, Delhi courts

Two terror suspects in New Delhi and a Islamic State recruiter in Mumbai were arrested in the wake of terror threats ahead of the Republic Day celebrations across the country.

A designated NIA court sent two suspected terrorists with alleged Islamic State links to a 13-day custody of the central terror probe agency.

Hyderabad residents Abu Anas and Nafees Khan, both aged 24 years, were produced before special judge at Patiala House court and their custody was handed over to the NIA, sources in the agency said on Sunday.

Also, another man who was arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for allegedly “recruiting” boys from suburban Malwani for Islamic State, was sent in police custody by a Mumbai court till January 30.

Rizwan Ali was arrested on Saturday from Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, an ATS official said. “The 23-year-old was presented before a holiday magistrate here who remanded him in police custody till January 30,” he said.

The ATS sleuths suspect that he allegedly radicalised and guided Ayaz Sultan who left the country reportedly to join IS last month.

ATS informed the court that Khalid, who was picked up from Kushinagar district in Uttar Pradesh, was very active on social media, and they have recovered his iPad and are in the process of retrieving all the social media chats from it.

The ATS had registered a case against a former BPO employee Ayaz who is missing from his residence since October 2015.

Ayaz and three other youths reportedly left home to join ISIS after being allegedly radicalised by Khalid. However two boys - Noor Mohamad and Wajid Shaikh -returned in last week of December.

NIA and other central agencies have arrested 14 people on Friday and Saturday for allegedly planning to carry out attacks ahead of the Republic Day.