Islamic State-Khorasan Province case: NIA raids 5 places in MP, Maha

NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted raids at five places in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra in Islamic State- Khorasan Province (ISKP) case.

The Central agency carried out these searches on Saturday at four locations in Seoni in Madhya Pradesh and one in Pune. Following up on leads, the NIA teams searched the houses of suspects, Talha Khan at Pune and Akram Khan at Seoni.

The case was initially registered by the Delhi Police Special cell after the arrest of a Kashmiri couple Jahanzaib Sami Wani and his wife Hina Bashir Beigh from Okhla, Jamia in Delhi, said the NIA, adding "the couple was found to be affiliated with ISKP."

During investigations, the federal agency said, the role of another accused, Abdullah Basith emerged, who was already lodged in Tihar Jail in another case. On the same day, NIA carried out searches at three other locations in Seoni in Shivmogga IS Conspiracy case.

The places searched included the residential and commercial premises of the suspects, Abdul Aziz Salafi and Shoeb Khan.

In the Shivammoga case, as part of a conspiracy hatched from abroad, the accused persons Mohamed Shariq, Maaz Muneer Khan, Yasin and others, based on instructions of their handler based abroad, targeted public and private properties, such as warehouses, liquor shops, hardware shops, vehicles and other properties belonging to members of a particular community and committed over 25 incidents of arson and sabotage.

They even carried out a mock IED blast. They were being funded through crypto-currencies by their online handler. As part of the larger conspiracy, accused Mohamed Shariq planned to carry out IED blast at Kadri temple, Mangalore on November 19 last year.

However, the IED had exploded prematurely through an accident, when the perpetrator was enroute to the target location. Abdul Salafi, 40, is a Maulana at the Seoni Jamia Masjid while Shoeb, 26, sells automobile spare parts.

Salafi, alongwith his accomplice Shoeb, were found actively propagating pernicious ideas, such as, 'voting in elections is sinful for Muslims'. The group led by Maulana Aziz Salafi was in the process of radicalising gullible Muslim youth of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and many southern States through provocative and inflammatory speeches on YouTube.

"They were also trying to bring together such radicalized individuals in Seoni district."

From the material seized during the searches, it has come to light that, this group was actively collecting information about ongoing activities and events in different Jihadi theatres, including Afghanistan," stated the NIA. "Initial examination of the suspects have brought out the fact that they are radically motivated individuals, who totally abhor the idea of democracy in India, and were preparing for carrying out Jihad against the people who believe otherwise," it added.

They were using social media platforms for dissemination of such false propaganda to impressionable youth, said the anti-terror agency. In furtherance of such efforts, the NIA said Aziz Salafi was also in contact with the arrested accused Maaz Muneer Ahmed of Karnataka, who had procured the explosive materials for the trial blast. Maaz was arrested by NIA in November last year.

"Further investigations into the connections of these accused in the spread of IS ideology in India by NIA are being continued to unearth the whole conspiracy," added the NIA.