The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday carried out raids in Telangana’s Hyderabad and Maharashtra’s Wardha in connection with an Islamic State (ISIS) module case, officials said.
“The raids are on at three places in Hyderabad and one place in Wardha since early morning,” a senior NIA official connected to the 2016 Islamic State module case probe told IANS.
However, the official refused to share more details.
Earlier in January, the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) had detained nine youth suspected of terror links to ISIS, who planned to create criminal disturbances in the state ahead of the Republic Day.
On receipt of reliable input about a group aligned with proscribed international terrorist organisation ISIS, ATS Maharashtra carried out searches and seizures at five different locations in Mumbra, Thane and Aurangabad.
In December last year, the NIA conducted searches at 17 locations in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi in connection with its probe into a new ISIS module styled as ‘Harkat ul Harb e Islam’, which was in an advanced stage of carrying out a series of blasts.
A total of 10 accused were arrested after an initial interrogation of the 16 suspects. Gang leader of the module, one Mufti Sohail who stays in Delhi and is a native of Amroha in UP where he works at a mosque, was also among the arrested.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had registered a case in 2016 relating to some youths of Hyderabad and their accomplices entering into criminal conspiracy to wage war against the government of India by collecting weapons and explosive materials to target public places including religious sites, sensitive government building, etc, in various parts of the country.
A charge sheet was also filed by the probe agency in the case.