NIA arrests 2 members of suspected terror outfit

The arrested persons were identified as Hassan Ali Younus Maricar (28) and Harish Mohamed (32), both from Nagapattinam. They are members of a suspected terror outfit Ansarullah gang, a squad formed by Hassan Ali to do militant activities in Tamil Nadu.

NIA sources noted that the duo tried to collect fund for the outfit when they were in the UAE and were deported. “They also conducted meetings in various places in south Tamil Nadu to propagate Wahhabism. Hassan Ali has been running the Tamil Nadu operation of the organisation, believed to be formed in Uttar Pradesh to aid terror activities, and members of the banned outfit, SIMI, are said to be active in this gang,” sources noted.

The arrested men were produced before the NIA special court judge in Chennai on Sunday evening and remanded in judicial custody till July 25.

During the search on Saturday, 9 mobile phones, 15 SIM cards, 7 memory cards, 3 laptops, 5 hard discs, 6 pen drives, 2 tablets and 3 CDs/ DVDs besides documents, including magazines, banners, notices, posters and books, were seized by the sleuths.

The NIA suspects that Ansarullah gang has links with global terror groups, including Al-Qaeda. “We received credible information that the accused had conspired and conducted consequent preparations to wage war against the Indian government, collected funds and made preparations to carry out terrorist attacks in India. Their intention was to establish Islamic rule in India,” claimed NIA.

On Saturday, the agency had also conducted raids at the office of Wahdat-e-Islami Hind in the city and the house of the office-bearer Syed Mohammed Bukhari in Mannadi and Purusaiwakkam. “He has not been arrested yet,” the central agency clarified on Sunday.