NIA arrests nine al-Qaida terrorists- three from Ernakulam and six from Murshidabad

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested three terrorists associated with the Pakistan-sponsored module of the al-Qaida from Ernakulam.
The arrests were made after the agency sleuths conducted searches in the early hours of Saturday at several locations in Ernakulam along with Murshidabad (in West Bengal). The agency arrested six terrorists of the same module from Murshidabad as well.The agency sleuths arrested three residents of Ernakulam- Murshid Hasan, Iyakub Biswas and Mosaraf Hossen. Those arrested from Murshidabad include Najmus Sakib, Abu Sufiyan, Mainul Mondal, Leu Yean Ahmed, Al Mamun Kamal and Atitur Rehman.
The arrested terrorists will be produced before the concerned courts in Kerala and West Bengal for police custody and further investigation.
The NIA had learnt about an inter-state module of al-Qaida operatives at various locations in the country including in West-Bengal and Kerala. According to a statement from the agency, the group was planning to undertake terrorist attacks at vital installations in the country with an aim to kill innocent people and strike terror in their minds. On the basis of the information, the agency had also registered a case (No. RC-31/2020/NIA/DLI) on September 11 and had initiated an investigation. It was in this investigation that nine terrorists have now been arrested.
Large quantity of incriminating materials including digital devices, documents, Jihadi literature, weapons, country-made firearms, a locally fabricated body armour, articles and literature used for making home-made explosive devices have been seized from their possession. As per preliminary investigation, the arrested were radicalised by Pakistan-based al-Qaida terrorists on social media and were motivated to undertake attacks at multiple places including the National Capital Region. For this purpose, the module was actively engaged in raising funds and a few members of the gang were planning to travel to New Delhi to procure arms and ammunition. These arrests have pre-empted possible-terrorist attacks in various parts of the country, the agency’s statement said.
The agency has been actively monitoring the movements of the suspected ever since it received the information about the terrorist activities. The arrest on Saturday is the next major busting of terror module from the state after October 2016, when six terrorists belonging to IS were arrested from Kanakamala in Kannur.