NIA Boss to The Quint: 10 Month Probe Led to ISIS Suspects’ Arrest

All 14 suspects arrested were monitored by the NIA for ten months; agency claims enough evidence to prosecute them.

Representational image of online radicalisation of Indian youths. (Photo: The Quint)

The Quint Exclusive: The arrest of the 14 suspects linked to ISIS was the result of a 10-month-long surveillance. This is Part I of a conversation with Sarad Kumar, the head of the National Investigation Agency.

The 14 suspected terrorists arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) before Republic Day were under surveillance since April 2015. NIA started monitoring a couple of them online during the investigation of some other cases related to the Indian Mujahideen terror group.

Had we wanted, we could have caught some of them way back in August or September 2015. But then we would have got hold of only a few and not all 14 of them. Moreover, now we have much more evidence to show their involvement in the unlawful activities and links with the ISIS.

<b>Sarad Kumar, Chief, National Investigation Agency</b>

According to investigators, the chat among the suspects was never explicit, there would be references to meetings and delivery of materials. But the agency was suspicious from the very beginning.

What Triggered the Arrests?

Abu Anas, a 24-year-old with a Masters in Computer Application, was arrested by the National Investigation Agency from Hyderabad for his alleged link to ISIS. (Photo: The Quint)

The NIA arrested all 14 within half a day when they found, through online chat, that money had been distributed by the amir-e-hind (the leader of the group) Muddabir Shaikh to the rest of the 13 men to purchase weapons. According to the investigators, they were planning ‘terror attacks’ in different cities immediately after procuring the weapons. The agency is still probing the details of their arms suppliers and other ISIS sympathisers still at large.

They were planning terror attacks on security forces and government establishments in different cities. When and where is a matter of investigation. But certainly, these people were working on different terror modules in 5-6 different states.

<b>Sarad Kumar, Chief, National Investigation Agency</b>

According to sources, Shaikh procured Rs 10-12 lakh through hawala, allegedly from Shafi Armar, a former Indian Mujahideen, now an active ISIS member. The investigators are yet to find out about the people involved in the hawala transaction.

Evidence Against the Suspected Terrorists

Panel on net neutrality has recommended licensing of apps of over-the-top (OTT) players like Skype, WhatsApp and Viber for making local or national long-distance calls. (Photo: iStockphoto)

The investigators claim that they have enough evidence to prosecute all 14 in a court of law. Apart from the seizure of explosive materials and Rs 6 lakh, and record of online chat, top sources in the NIA say that a couple of suspects confessed their crime before the parents when they were arrested, namely, Najmul Huda, a chemical engineer from Surthkal in Karnataka and Mohammad Obaidullah Khan from Hyderabad. The father of Najmul Huda however denies the claim.

<i>Jab NIA wale usse le ja rahe the tab mere bete ne mujhse gale mila aur kaha ki abba mere liye dua kariye. Maine usse kaha ki kahi tumne galti ki hai to NIA ko sach bata do aur unke saath cooperate karo. Agar mujhe kabhi lagta ki wo galat raah par jaa raha hai toh me khud use rokta. Usne mere saamne kabhi gunaah kubool nahi kiya. </i>(When the NIA people were taking him away, my son hugged me and asked me to pray for him. I told him to tell the NIA the truth and cooperate with them if he has made a mistake. If I ever felt like he was following the wrong path, I would have stopped him myself. He never confessed to his crime in front of me.)

<b>Najmul Huda’s Father</b>

Huda’s father, who is a teacher in a masjid, further claims that the NIA didn’t recover arms or explosives from their house. He fears that his son has been wrongly arrested by the agencies.