Published Jun 13, 2024 | 6:58 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 13, 2024 | 6:58 PM
NIA. (Wikimedia)
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday, 13 June, charge sheeted seven people in the Ballari IS module case.
They were arrested on a case charged in December 2023 over charges of recruitment and radicalisation of vulnerable youth as mujahideen to operate as terrorist sleeper cells, said the agency in a release.
“The Bellary module was inspired by the separatist and violent ideology of ISIS. The sleeper cells were being prepared to carry out guerrilla attacks on the Indian soldiers, police and leaders of specific religious organisations,” it added.
NIA said the accused were involved in the making of explosives to spread the IS ideology to establish the caliphate system in India by waging jihad against the government.
“The improvised explosive devices prepared by the accused were meant to unleash terrorist violence in the country. The accused had already carried out a ‘trial blast’ in Ballari and were also sharing jihad-related digital documents with vulnerable youth,” stated NIA.
NIA has seized explosive materials, sharp-edged weapons, and digital devices containing propaganda magazines.
Of the seven people, Mohammed Sulaiman alias Minaj, Mohammed Muniruddin, Syed Sameer and Mohammed Muzammil, were residents of Karnataka.
The other three accused are Anas Iqbal Shaikh of Maharashtra, Mohammed Shabhaz Zulfikan of Jharkhand and Shayan Rehman of Delhi.
Minaj was the leader of the group who had declared himself the amir, said the NIA.
#Karnataka: NIA files chargesheet against seven accused in connection to the Bellary IS module case.
A total of seven persons were arrested on the charges of recruitment and radicalization of vulnerable youth as mujahideens to operate as terrorist sleeper cells on 18 December,… pic.twitter.com/z0vBxwyaHq
— South First (@TheSouthfirst) June 13, 2024
They were arrested on 18 December, 2023, after NIA teams raided 19 locations spread across Ballari and Bengaluru in Karnataka; as well as Amaravati, Mumbai, and Pune in Maharashtra; Jamshedpur and Bokaro in Jharkhand; and Delhi.
The NIA registered a case against the IS Ballari module on 14 December, 2023. It has, since then, been working closely with the state police and central agencies to track and apprehend members of this module.
The anti-terror agency has been conducting large-scale crackdowns and has busted various IS modules in recent years. Several terror operatives have been arrested in these raids by the NIA.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil)
