In a major crackdown the National Investigation Agency (NIA) sleuths on Sunday arrested three persons - two from Hupari (in Maharashtra) near Nippani and one from Bhatkal - for suspected ISIS links.
The NIA officials also questioned an Unani medical student in Tumakuru for similar charges. The arrests made in Hupari and Bhatkal are part of a nationwide crackdown. The suspects were planning to carry out terrorist activities at different locations, the NIA release said.
Following the information, the NIA officials raided Labbaik Imdad Foundation office at Rendhal near Hupari and arrested Hafeez Irshad Shoukat Sheikh and Altaf Shoukat Sheikh. A group of locals vandalized the office of the Foundation.
The officials of the counter-terror agency swooped down on a house at Chinnada Palli in Bhatkal town, Uttara Kannada district, in the early hours of Sunday and arrested Abdul Mukthadeer for his alleged link with terror outfit ISIS. The officials also questioned the brother of the suspect.
NIA sources said, Mukthadeer, an employee at a cloth shop in the town, used to get ISIS propaganda material translated and upload the same on social media platforms.
In Tumakuru, the officials of India’s premier counter-terrorism agency picked a student from Maharashtra, who is pursuing Unani medicine here, for questioning. They served him a notice to appear for enquiry.
Similar searches were conducted by NIA in Bhopal and Raisen districts of Madhya Pradesh and Bharuch, Surat, Navsari and Ahmedabad districts in Gujarat. The searches led to the seizure of incriminating documents and material. Further investigation into the case is in progress, the agency said.
(With PTI inputs)