Online Radicalisation by ISIS a Major Threat, NIA Arrests Five

NIA conducts raids nationwide, arrests five suspected terrorists. Online radicalisation by ISIS is a growing threat.

A few days before the Republic Day, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) cracked a big terror module by conducting raids across the nation and arresting five suspected terrorists and detaining nine others.

For the first time ever since its inception, the NIA carried out nationwide massive raids on Friday including in Mumbai, Bangalore, Mangalore, Karnataka, Hyderabad and Lucknow. According to sources, the arrested suspects were radicalised online and were under the surveillance of security agencies for the past six months.

Ex IM Member Shafi Armar, Now Linked With ISIS

According to sources, all the suspects were directly or indirectly linked to Shafi Armar, a former member of the Indian Mujahadeen terror group and a fugitive against whom a red corner notice was issued by the security agencies. As of now, Armar’s location is unclear. An intelligence report says that Shafi is now believed to be linked with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and is possibly located in Syria. Armar had been posting a lot of literature on ISIS online. His brother Sultan recently died in Syria while fighting for ISIS.

According to the NIA, Mudabbir Mushtaq Shaikh was in direct touch with Shafi and it was Shaikh who was coordinating online with the rest of the suspected terrorists. Shaikh was planning an online training camp with suspected terrorists.

The agency claims that Armar is the common link between the fourteen suspected terrorists and the four suspected ISIS terrorists who were arrested by the Delhi Police on 19 January from Haridwar. This points to the possibility that ISIS is making efforts to radicalise youth online in India and Armar has now emerged as the face of the terror group.

So what triggered the arrests now?

Recently, the security agencies intercepted a call of a suspected terrorist named Mudabbir Mushtaq Shaikh who is based in Thane in Maharashtra. He is apparently the leader. Through the intercepted call, we found that they were planning to purchase weapons for which Sheikh had received 6 lakh rupees.

NIA sources

The agency says that it is investigating the source of these funds and they don’t rule out the possibility that the money came from a foreign country.

Online radicalisation of young blood has been under surveillance of the country’s intelligence agencies and has helped them track these suspects. This trend is growing and has now gone beyond the control of the security agencies.

During the searches, the investigators recovered some material to assemble IEDs and explosives. According to the sources, these suspects were planning terror attacks in different places including trains. The suspects have been booked under the Unlawful Activity Act by the NIA. More arrests are likely to happen. The NIA will bring all suspected terrorists to Delhi for further interrogation.

Names of the Suspected Terrorists Arrested By NIA

• Mudabbir Mushtaq Shaikh – Resident of Mumbra, Thane
  
• Mohammad Nafees Khan – Resident of Hyderabad
  
• Najmul Huda – Resident of Mangalore
  
• Mohammad Shareef Mounuddin Khan – Resident of Hyderabad
  
• Mohd Afzal – Resident of Bangalore