NIA arrests teen with IS links in West Bengal

 The National Investigation Agency (NIA) detained a teenager from Durgapur in West Bengal on suspicions of having links with the Islamic State (IS).

Although details remain sketchy, it is believed the youth was part of a network that helped plan terror strikes across India and ran an online training module.

Sources said the central agency picked up 19-year-old Asif Ahmad from Durgapur in Burdwan district, an industrial hub 200 kilometres north of Kolkata.

Acknowledging the youth’s detention, NIA’s Inspector General Sanjeev Singh said agency and state CID officials, acting on a tip-off, reached Durgapur on February 23 and detained Asif.

“He is presently under questioning. He is suspected of having links with IS. He used to stay in a rented accommodation in Durgapur under an alias,” Singh said.

Officials added that Asif’s father Ishaq was also detained and the two are being questioned at the agency’s office in Kolkata.

A First-Year student at a Durgapur-based polytechnic college, Asif was picked up from a rented apartment where he lived with some friends, using the alias Raja Das. Sources said his flat-mates were let off after preliminary questioning revealed that none of them knew Asif was living under a false name.