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A team of officials from the French police has arrived in Kerala to interrogate Subahani Haja Moideen in connection with the November 2015 Paris terrorist attack that killed 130 people.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had found out that Subahani had received ISIS weapons training along with two terrorists who took part in the Paris terrorist attack.
Central Prison, Viyyur superintendent Nirmalanandan confirmed to TNM that Subahani will be interrogated by the French police team after the NIA granted permission for the same.
“The French officials arrived on 4 December, Tuesday. The interrogation will take place between Wednesday and Friday (5 and 7 December),” NIA sources said.
Subahani was arrested by the NIA from his ancestral place of Kadayanallur in Tirunelveli on 5 October, 2016. He is believed to be one of the main links in the ISIS recruitment network.
According to a report in The Pioneer, he told the NIA that during his ISIS stint in Iraq, he had met two of the terrorists – Abdelhamid Abaaoud and Salah Abdelslam – who took part in the Paris terror attack.
Subahani is suspected to have received weapons training in Syria. According to a report in Mathrubhumi after Subahani got frightened witnessing another terrorist burnt alive at the war front in Syria, the terror outfit held him captive and allowed him to return to India on the condition that he should continue IS activities.
NIA, however, declined to comment on this and did not divulge more details.
On getting the information, the NIA had launched surveillance along with the Kerala, Delhi and Telangana Police, which led to the arrest while five were conducting the meeting at Kanakamala hilltop in Kannur.
The NIA Kochi filed two chargesheets in March 2017 before the NIA special court in Kochi against the eight people from Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the secret meeting case. At that time, a separate charge sheet was filed against Subahani.
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