14 jihadi youths arrested in major sweep

Wednesday 03rd February 2016 04:53 EST
 
 

Averting a potential Jihadi attack, the National Investigation Agency has arrested or detained 14 Jihadi youths in a major sweep conducted across India before Republic Day. The crackdown came at a time when India was on high alert. The lihadists allegedly formed a module on the pattern of dreaded ISIS to carry out strikes at different places.

The raids were carried out in five different states; Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh, where 14 people were “arrested or detained”. They were part of a group named Janood-ul-Khalifa-e-Hind, a terror group with has ideologies similar to the IS. While an official spokesman of the Union Home Ministry has maintained that five people have been arrested “so far” and nine have been detained, sources said that eight people were detained besides the five arrests in Mumbai and Bangalore, while one person has been let off.

The NIA has released the names of those arrested. Muttabir Mustaq Sheikh from Thane, Mumbai, Mohammad Nafees Khan from Hyderabad, Mohammad Shareef Mounuddin Khan from Hyderabad, Najmul Huda from Mangalore, and Mohammad Afzal of Bangalore. Family members of some of them maintain they have nothing to do with any terror plot and claim their innocence. Sheikh had made himself 'Ameer' (Chief) of the group and Huda the 'Ameer-e-Wyulat' (finance) and they were in touch on Internet with some persons believed to be from ISIS based in Syria, sources said. These people were under surveillance for quite sometime and the decision to arrest them was taken as the group received 'instructions' to carry out 'some sensational' attacks in the country. All of them range between age group of 25 and 30 and were well educated, with some of them holding degrees in software engineering. The group had begun to receive money through 'hawala' route. The Home Ministry said “Sheikh also received funds to the tune of Rs 600,000”. NIA and central agency officials recovered laptops, explosive material, detonators, wires, batteries and hydrogen peroxide besides 'Jihadi literature', the sources said. The sleuths also recovered 42 mobile phones including eight from Ameer.

The Home Ministry spokesman said a total of 14 suspects were picked up in different states of which three were from Mumbai, four each from Hyderabad and Bengaluru and one each from Mangalore, Tumkur (Karnataka) and Lucknow. Regarding those detained, the spokesman said some may be arrested while some may be let off, “depending on the investigation and information collected on them.” He said it was not immediately clear from where they received funds but added “all of them were somehow connected with one Yusuf, believed to be Safi Armar, a former member of Indian Mujahideen (IM).”

“We have been monitoring many people for their online activities. This is a larger group who have direct or cross link with Yousuf. His links with ISIS is subject of investigation as his location was not known as yet,” he said, adding they were radicalised elements belonging to ISIS who could have joined some group. The youths, who were described by police as highly radicalised, were allegedly in touch with members of the Islamic State terror group in Syria. They are also believed to be in the process of making an explosive.

“The operation was on the basis of intelligence inputs. Akhlak-ur-Rehman, Mohammad Osama alias Adil, Mohammad Asim Shah and Mohammad Meraj alias Monu were arrested from Roorkee and Haridwar. They have been taken to Delhi,” said Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Arvind Deep. Deep added that they had been booked under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.


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