NIA conducts raids across 10 States in ISIS-AQIS online radicalisation case

The National Investigation Agency conducted searches at 20 locations across 10 states and Delhi while investigating an alleged online terror radicalisation network linked to ISIS and AQIS. Digital devices were seized as investigators continue to probe suspected extremist propaganda and foreign connections.

HYDERABAD: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday conducted coordinated searches at 20 locations across the country as part of its investigation into an alleged online terror radicalisation network accused of promoting the ideology of the banned terrorist organisations ISIS and Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).

The searches were carried out in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat and the Union Territory of Delhi in connection with a case registered earlier.

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According to the NIA, the case relates to an alleged conspiracy to radicalise vulnerable youth through online propaganda and violent extremist content with the objective of establishing an Islamic state in India through violent jihad against the democratically elected government.

During the searches, officials seized several digital devices, which will undergo forensic examination to gather further evidence in the case, said the NIA in a press release.

The agency stated that 11 suspects and one juvenile have so far been arrested. The case was originally registered by the Vijayawada Police in March after a search at the residence of the key suspect, Rehmatullah Sharif Mohammad, allegedly led to the recovery of incriminating material linked to the banned terrorist organisations. The NIA took over the investigation in May.

The latest searches were carried out based on technical analysis of digital devices seized earlier, connectivity analysis of the arrested suspects and other findings during the investigation.

The NIA alleged that those arrested and their associates were engaged in online indoctrination of vulnerable youth through extremist propaganda and misinformation, and were in contact with foreign handlers to propagate jihadi ideology and further an anti-India conspiracy. The investigation is continuing to identify other persons allegedly involved in the network.