NIA nabs third accused in Vizianagaram terror plot at Delhi Airport

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested Arif Hussain alias Abu Talib at Delhi’s IGI Airport while he was allegedly attempting to flee the country in connection with the Vizianagaram ISIS terror conspiracy case. He is the third key accused in the case, after Siraj-ur-Rahman and Syed Sameer, who were earlier arrested for possessing IED-making chemicals and plotting terror attacks.

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested another key accused in the Vizianagaram ISIS terrorist conspiracy case, an official said on Thursday.

Arif Hussain a.k.a. Abu Talib, a resident of Bihar, was nabbed by an NIA team at IGI Airport, Delhi, while attempting to flee the country, the official said.

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He will be presented before the NIA Special Court, Visakhapatnam, he said.

Investigations by the NIA had revealed that the accused had been in contact with accused Siraj-ur-Rahman, already arrested in the case earlier along with Syed Sameer.

Siraj and Sameer were found to be in possession of chemicals used for making IEDs and were conspiring to carry out terrorist attacks, the NIA said.

Arif was involved in illegal supply of weapons in various parts of the country for jihadi activities, the investigations further revealed.

Before the NIA took over the investigation, Siraj and Sameer were arrested in May by Andhra Pradesh Police.

The police took them into custody from Visakhapatnam Central Jail and shifted to Vizianagaram for questioning.

Senior officials, including the in-charge Superintendent of Police Madhava Reddy, questioned the accused over the alleged terror plot.

The duo was questioned about the plot and the activities of Al-Hind Ittehadul Muslimeen floated by them. The investigating officials tried to gather information about their contacts in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and other states.

Siraj was arrested by Vizianagaram police following the recovery of explosives at his residence on May 17. The subsequent investigation led to the arrest of Sameer in Hyderabad.

Sameer was brought to Vizianagaram, and the duo were sent to judicial custody for 14 days.

They were booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, and under the Explosive Substances Act of 1908.

The two suspects had allegedly procured explosives online and were planning a series of explosions near Vizianagaram.