NIA chargesheets 2 in ISIS Kerala-TN module case

An NIA spokesperson in Delhi said the anti-terror probe agency filed the chargesheet against Mohammad Azarudeen and Sheik Hidayatullah in a Special NIA court in Ernakulum under several sections of IPC and the Unlawful (Activities) Prevention Act (UAPA).

According to the NIA, Azarudeen was the mastermind of the Islamic State group's Tamil Nadu module and he was arrested from Coimbatore on June 12 this year.

The NIA had arrested both the accused the same day. According to NIA officials, Azarudeen was also a Facebook friend of Zahran Hashim, the alleged mastermind behind the recent easter bombings in Sri Lanka that left over 250 people dead.

The Central probe agency registered a case on May 30 this year, taking suo motu action against six accused from Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, based on information that the accused and their associates were propagating the ideology of the proscribed terrorist organization ISIS/Daish on social media with the intention of recruiting vulnerable youths in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

The spokesperson said that during investigation, it was revealed that Azarudheen and Hidayathulla were propagating violent extremist ideology since 2017.

According to the NIA officials, Azarudeen was the leader of the module and was also maintaining a Facebook page named "KhilafahGFX", through which he had been propagating the ideology of ISIS/ Daish.

"They organized several secret classes at their houses besides at other places in Coimbatore, in support of the ISIS/Daish. They also followed the Sri Lankan ISIS/ Daish leader Zahran Hashim, over social media, while downloading and disseminating his speeches in support of violent jihad," he said.