Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A court here on Saturday sent three alleged members of an ISIS-linked terror module, arrested last week in Jabalpur city of Madhya Pradesh, in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) till June 10.
Syed Mamoor Ali, Mohammad Adil Khan and Mohammad Shahid were produced before special judge for NIA cases Nitiraj Singh Sisodia and the central probe agency sought their remand for one more week citing the need for further investigation, special prosecutor Deepesh Joshi said.
"The court accepted our plea and sent them in remand till June 10," he said.
The arrests were made on May 27 during raids at 13 locations in Jabalpur in an operation with the Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) of Madhya Pradesh police.
Adil Khan was on the agency's radar since August 2022, an NIA official said.
Plan to unleash terror attacks in India
According to the federal agency, Khan and his associates were involved in disseminating the ISIS propaganda through social media, as well as through on-ground 'Dawah' programmes to unleash violent terror attacks in India at the instance of the terrorist organisations.
"The module had been conducting meetings in local masjids and houses and hatching plans and conspiracies to spread terror in the country," an NIA spokesperson said last week.
The official said investigations revealed that the three accused were highly radicalised and were determined to carry out violent "jihad".
"They were engaged in collecting funds, disseminating ISIS propaganda material, motivating and recruiting youth, and trying to procure arms and ammunition with the objective of carrying out terrorist acts," the spokesperson said.
Accused operated Whatsapp group named 'Fisabilillah'
The NIA official said Ali had created a local group by the name of 'Fisabilillah' and was also operating a WhatsApp group by the same name. He said, "Along with his associates, he was trying to procure pistols and was in contact with a Jabalpur-based illegal arms supplier for this purpose." A staunch ISIS follower and supporter, Khan had managed to assemble an active group of Jabalpur-based like-minded radicalised individuals, according to NIA.
"Some of the module members were already contemplating Hijrat (flight) to conflict theatres, while others had plans to form a local outfit for carrying out violent jihad in India," the spokesperson had said.
The official said Khan was also running multiple YouTube, Instagram and WhatsApp channels for motivating and recruiting youth into the ISIS fold.
"Investigations further showed that Shahid had also planned to procure weapons including pistols, improvised explosive devices and even grenades for violent attacks in India," the NIA spokesperson said.
