The NIA charge-sheeted five people linked
with the Islamic State of Khorasan Province, an affiliate of global terrorist
group ISIS, in a special court in Gujarat on Tuesday, an official said.
The five people are Ubaid Nasir Mir,
Hanan Hayat Shawl, Mohd Hazim Shah, Sumera Banu and Zubair.
They had plans to go to Afghanistan
illegally through Iran from Gujarat’s Porbandar for training and carrying out
terrorist acts in that country, the officials said adding they were arrested by
the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).
The ATS brought into knowledge that the
five people were actively involved with the Islamic State of Khorasan Province
(ISKP), which is active in the Khorasan province of Afghanistan, the officials
said.
Inquiries revealed that the arrested
individuals were engaged in activities such as recruitment of Muslim youth to
join the violent agenda of the banned terror outfit, said a National
Investigation Agency (NIA) spokesperson.
“Their actions were not limited to
propagating the agenda and the ideology of the ISKP on social media but they
were also actively engaged in motivating, radicalising and indoctrinating
vulnerable Muslim youth in Bharat with the extremist ideology of the ISKP. They
were also collecting funds for the banned terror organisation,” informed the
official.
The spokesperson said two other accused
are absconding and, according to investigations, they are in Afghanistan and
Iran. The two are believed to be the handlers of the arrested individuals.
Given the national security
ramifications and international linkages, the Ministry of Home Affairs had
transferred the case to the NIA on June 28.
Subsequently, on July 1, the anti-terror
agency had registered a case under various Sections of the Unlawful Activities
(Prevention) Act and Indian Penal Code, based on the FIR earlier filed by the
ATS in Ahmedabad.
The NIA is continuing with its
investigations in the case, the spokesperson said.
PTI
