Page 8 - The Indian EYE 072823

NATION JULY 28, 2023 | The Indian Eye 8

Terror Alert! Suspects held in several states amid

suspicion of planned attacks by radicalized men

NIA suspects their involvement in the distribution of sticky bombs, magnetic bombs,
Improvised Explosive Devices, funds, narcotic substances and arms

stances and arms and ammunition.
OUR BUREAU
This is the NIA’s second raid in
Bengaluru/Patna/New Delhi the case within 15 days. The agency
had conducted raids at five locations
n a major breakthrough this week, in South Kashmir on July 11. The
seven country-made pistols, live places earlier searched by the NIA
Ibullets, walkie-talkie sets and include three districts of Anantnag,
dagger were among the arms and am- Shopian and Pulwama in the Kash-
munition recovered from five terror mir valley. It led to the seizure of sev-
suspects who had been radicalised to eral digital devices containing mas-
carry out attacks and were arrested sive incriminating data.
by Bengaluru Police. Earlier in a different case, the
Bengaluru Police Commission- NIA arrested an “expert arms train-
er B Dayananda said on Wednesday er” as one more prime accused in
that the preliminary interrogation the Bihar case relating to the banned
shows that five accused were radi- Popular Front of India (PFI), taking
calised by one of the main accused the total number of arrests in the
in the 2008 Bengaluru serial blast case to 15. Yaqub Khan, 22, alias Sul-
case. “Five accused have been arrest- tan alias Usman, a resident of East
ed. The preliminary interrogation in- Champaran district in Bihar, was
dicates that five accused, along with arrested on charges pertaining to un-
another person who is absconding lawful and anti-national activities of
and who is likely to be abroad now, PFI cadres and members.
they were involved in a 2017 murder The NIA had earlier arrested 14
case. And when they were inside the accused and seized several incrimi-
jail regarding this case, they came in nating articles and documents relat-
contact with Nazeer, one of the of ed to the case. Four accused were
the main accused in 2008 serial blast charge-sheeted in the case on Janu-
case,” he said. ary 7 this year.
“Nazeer seems to have radical- NIA investigations have re-
ised these individuals, especially the vealed that Yaqub Khan was an “ex-
one who is now absconding and the pert arms trainer of the PFI and had
person who is presently abroad, he conducted many training sessions in
has activated this module and he has furtherance of the outfit’s aggressive
supplied these weapons and other ISIS terrorist Faizan Ansari, who was allegedly in contact with ISIS agents and violent agenda and activities.”
equipment for the purpose of carry- from across the country and abroad through the dark net is being brought before Meanwhile in Uttar Pradesh,
ing out certain subversive activities in the NIA court in Ranchi on Thursday (ANI) NIA on Thursday arrested a 19-year-
Bengaluru city,” he added. old student of Uttar Pradesh’s
The officer said that based on Aligarh Muslim University (AMU)
credible information, the Crime Agency (NIA) on Thursday carried tions being raided by the NIA sleuths for his alleged links with ISIS, a pro-
Branch has been successful in out searches at five locations in are residential premises of hybrid scribed terrorist organisation. The
pre-empting and preventing a possi- Kashmir in a case pertaining to the terrorists and OGWs linked with the accused, Faizan Ansari alias Faiz,
ble subversive activity in Bengaluru criminal conspiracy for carrying out newly-formed offshoots and affili- was arrested after searches at his
city. terrorist and subversive activities ates of several banned Kashmiri ter- house and rented accommodation in
Former Karnataka Chief Minis- hatched by the cadres and Over- rorist outfits. Premises of sympathis- Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh as part
ter Basavaraj Bommai said the case ground Workers (OGWs) of various ers and cadres of these organisations of NIA’s crackdown against modules
should be handed over to National proscribed organizations and their are also being raided. of ISIS operating in the country, said
Investigation Agency. “There is a big affiliates or off-shoots operating un- All these cadres and workers the NIA.
conspiracy. They wanted to do serial der various pseudo names at the be- are being investigated for activi- As per the NIA, Faizan had
bomb blasts in Bengaluru. This case hest of their Pakistani commanders ties relating to terror, violence and hatched a criminal conspiracy along
should be handed over to NIA (Na- and handlers. subversion in Jammu and Kash- with his associates and other un-
tional Investigation Agency).” The raids were conducted mir. The NIA suspects their in- known individuals through social
The Bengaluru case is one against newly floated offshoots of volvement in the collection and media platforms to support ISIS ac-
among the several cases which hint proscribed Pakistan-backed banned distribution of sticky bombs, mag- tivities in India and disseminate the
at a growing terror threat across the terrorist outfits operating in Jammu netic bombs, Improvised Explo- outfit’s propaganda over various so-
country. The National Investigation and Kashmir, sources said. The loca- sive Devices, funds, narcotic sub- cial media platforms.

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