ISIS recruitment case: NIA raids 30 locations in Telangana, Tamil Nadu

Several incriminating books in vernacular and Arabic languages were also seized during the searches, in addition to Rs.60 lakhs in Indian currency and 18,200 US dollars

Hyderabad: In a major crackdown on ISIS radicalization and recruitment campaign plans, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday raided 31 locations across Telangana and Tamil Nadu and seized several digital devices and documents, along with Indian and foreign currency.

The anti-terror agency is in the process of examining the data contained in the mobile phones, laptops and hard discs seized during the raids conducted across the two southern States.

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Several incriminating books in vernacular and Arabic languages were also seized during the searches, in addition to Rs.60 lakhs in Indian currency and 18,200 US dollars.

NIA teams swooped down on the premises of suspects in the ISIS Radicalization and Recruitment Case booked in Tamil Nadu earlier and raided 22 locations in Coimbatore, three in Chennai and one in Kadaiyanallur of Tenkasi district in Tamil Nadu. Another five locations were raided at Hyderabad and Cyberabad police commissionerate limits in Telangana.

The case, registered by NIA Chennai under sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, pertains to clandestine operations by a group of individuals to radicalize gullible youth.

According to NIA officials, the radicalisation was being carried out in the garb of holding Arabic language classes conducted through their Regional Study Centers. Such radicalisation activities were being flashed online through social media platforms and mobile applications like WhatsApp and Telegram.

NIA investigations have revealed that the ISIS-inspired agent provocateurs were engaged in propagation of Khilafat ideology, which is inimical to India’s constitutionally established principles of secularism and democracy.

The group of persons involved in the case had entered into a conspiracy to radicalise and recruit youth who were later found involved in terrorist as well as unlawful acts and activities. One such terror attack related to the Coimbatore car bomb blast case of October 23, 2022, NIA officials said.

Investigations in the case are continuing, as part of NIA’s concerted efforts to thwart ISIS attempts to initiate vulnerable and susceptible youth into the terrorist network that is working actively to spread terror in the country with the overarching aim of disturbing and disrupting its peace and communal harmony.