New Delhi / Mumbai: In a major anti-terror swoop across the country ahead of Republic Day, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Friday took into custody 14 people suspected to be ISIS sympathizers for plotting attacks in different parts of the country.
Of the 14 suspects, six have been arrested while eight have been detained for further questioning, the National Investigation Agency said Friday night.
A possible attack may have been averted with the crackdown that came as Delhi Police Friday issued an alert after the driver of a taxi hired by three unidentified persons from Pathankot was found dead in Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh, in the aftermath of the airbase attack.
The arrests followed simultaneous searches and raids at 12 locations in six cities — Bangalore, Tumkur, Mangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Lucknow with the support of local police forces. NIA said certain incriminating articles, including mobile phones, laptops, unaccounted cash, jihadi literature and videos and certain material for preparation of bombs were recovered from these places.
“These individuals were planning and making efforts to establish a channel of procurement of explosives and weapons, identify locations to organise training camps including training in firearms, motivate recruits to target police officers and foreigners in India and to carry out terrorist activities in various parts of India,” it said.
The arrested people were part of a group named Janood-ul-Khalifa-e-Hind (Army of Caliph of India), a terror group that has ideologies similar to that of ISIS. One of those arrested, Muttabir Mustaq Sheikh (33) from Thane district near Mumbai, had designated himself as Ameer (chief) of the group and another, Najmul Huda (25) of Mangalore, Huda as Ameer-e-Wyulat (chief of finance) and they were in touch on Internet with some persons believed to be from ISIS based in Syria, sources said.
The group had started receiving money through hawala route. “Sheikh also received funds to the tune of Rs 6 lakh,” said a home ministry spokesman.
Meanwhile, Delhi Police issued an alert saying the body of Vijay Kumar, of Gaggal village in the district, whose taxi was hired by three people from Pathankot, was found at Kalta bridge in Kangra. The taxi is missing, police said.
“A white colour Alto taxi no HP 01D 2440 was hired from Pathankot by three unknown people. The driver of the taxi, Vijay Kumar from Gaggal, Kangra, was found dead January 20, 2016, at Kalta bridge in Kangra district. The Alto car is missing. Search operations are on. Stay Alert!” said the pinned tweet on Delhi Police’s official handle.