The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday conducted searches in Srinagar with the help of CRPF and local police. According to reports, the searches were related to cases of terror funding and support to terrorism, among others.
Sources told CNN-News18 that NIA officials with the local police and CPRF reached Karfalli Mohalla locality in the wee hours of Monday and searched the house of Uzair Azhar Bhat, son of Farooq Ahmad for allegedly being involved in a case related to the criminal conspiracy hatched within and outside India.
The forces reached the locality at around 6:30 am and later searched the house. NIA sleuths are examining digital devices and further investigations are in progress.
A local told CNN-News18 that the security forces had surrounded the area in big numbers but there was no restriction on the movement of people.
The raids at Uzair Azhar Bhat’s house were conducted in connection to an ISIS module case in Kerala. The agency, in 2021, began its investigation into Mohammed Ameen alias Abu Yahya. The resident of Mallapuram district was accused of spreading ISIS propaganda, radicalising and recruitment new members on various social media platforms, including Telegram, Hoop and Instagram, according to an official release.
Officials said Ameen and his associates had also identified some individuals for targeted killings. They had also made plans to undertake Hijrah to Jammu & Kashmir for engaging in terrorist acts and had raised funds from various sources for this trip, it said.
The NIA, during its probe, found Ameen was linked to Deepthi Marla, a resident of Kerala who developed an inclination towards ISIS in 2015 she had gone to Dubai to pursue studies. She and her friend Mizha Siddeeque both planned for “Hijrah to the Caliphate” announced by ISIS in 2019 during their visit to Tehran in Iran. However, both women failed to establish contact with ISIS operatives in Khorasan.
Upon her return to India, Deepthi got in touch with Ameen, Obaid Hamid Matta, Madesh Shankar alias Abdullah and others and planned to undertake hijrah at ISIS-administered territory, the statement read. A year later, Deepthi went to Srinagar in January 2020 to meet Obaid to plan the attack.
Officials said Uzair was identified as a common link between Deepthi and Obaid.
Read all the Latest India News here
Comments
0 comment