The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested four persons from Tamil Nadu in connection with ISIS “radicalisation” and recruitment case.
The agency had on Saturday conducted raids at 21 locations related to the 2022 Coimbatore car blast case and the TN ISIS radicalisation and recruitment case.
Details of the case
Giving details of the case on Sunday, the agency said, raids were conducted at 11 locations associated with Madras Arabic College / Kovai Arabic College in connection with the radicalisation case, which involved individuals engaged in clandestine radicalisation of gullible youth in the garb of Arabic language classes through preaching of radical ideologies and promotion of violent Jihad at their Regional Study Centres in Tamil Nadu.
“Besides the Arabic classes, the radicalisation took place online, through social media platforms and mobile applications, such as WhatsApp and Telegram. The ISIS operatives were using the classes and the social media to impart radical sermons to propagate Khilafat and ISIS ideologies inimical to India’s constitutionally established principles of secularism, democracy etc,” the NIA citing the investigations said.
Searches led to of electronic devices, material objects and documents
The searches led to the seizure of a large number of electronic devices, material objects and documents. These included six laptops, 25 mobile phones, 34 SIM cards, six SD cards, three hard discs.
“Susceptible youth were also being recruited to commit terrorist acts and unlawful activities, such as the Coimbatore car bomb blast that took place in October 2022. NIA investigations had further revealed that 10 accused arrested in the blast case had been associated with the Kovai Arabic College in Coimbatore,” the agency said.
3 arrested were linked with Madras Arabic College
Three of those arrested were linked with the Madras Arabic College. They included one Jameel Basha Umari, “who had floated the college to promote fundamentalism, extremism and radicalisation”.
The NIA said, he had spoken vocally in support of Khilafat ideology and had also promoted and advocated the concept of martyrdom for violent Jihad. Two others, Maulvi Hussain Faizy @Mohammed Hussain Faizy and Irshath, are former students of Jameel and Madras Arabic College, and had been responsible for rechristening Madras Arabic College as Kovai Arabic College. The fourth accused arrested following the raids has been identified as Syed Abdur Rahman Umari, who was in possession of incriminating literature connected with the ISIS.
He was also involved in propagating the tenets of ISIS to the accused connected with the Coimbatore car bomb blast case through secret ‘bayans’ / ‘masooras’.
As for the car blast case, the agency said, extensive searches were conducted at various places linked with suspects, who were part of an encrypted mobile platform group, along with the accused arrested in connection with the ISIS inspired VBIED terror attack in Coimbatore.
"Investigations showed that the suspects had eulogised Zahran Hashim, the dead Sri Lankan terrorist who had been preaching hate and violence and had orchestrated the PBIED attack that killed more than 250 civilians in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 2019. The suspects and accused were found to have used the platform to discuss ISIS activities and prospects with a view of establishing the outfit’s foothold in India," it charged.
