JOIN USNIA arrests 14 as part of raids against terror suspects
Armed with critical inputs from US Central Intelligence Agency, Indian sleuths on Saturday continued their crackdown against suspected Islamic State sympathisers and arrested 14 persons for allegedly plotting to launch attacks during Republic Day celebrations.
The tip-off from the CIA came at a time with Indian agencies led by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had stepped up vigil days after Delhi Police busted an IS-inspired module in Roorkee in Uttarakhand.
The multi-city raids that had begun on Friday across six states wound up with the arrest of Imran Mozzam Khan Pathan of Aurangabad in Maharashtra in the wee hours of Saturday.
Those arrested on Saturday have been identified as Syed Mujahid (33), resident of Tumakuru; Mohammad Aleem (20), Lucknow; Mohammed Obedullah Khan (33), Hyderabad; Abu Anas (24), Hyderabad; Asif Ali (21), Bengaluru; Muhammed Abdul Ahad (46), Bengaluru and Suhail Ahmed (23), Bengaluru. Also arrested on Saturday was Rizwan Ali, the self-styled deputy chief of ‘Janood-ul-Khalifa-e-Hind’ (Army of Caliph in India), a terror group having ideologies similar to that of the IS.
The CIA has been sharing counter-terrorism information with its Indian counterparts in view of the heightened security on account of the visit of French President Francois Hollande, who will be the chief guest for the Republic Day.