National Investigation Agency arrested two from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka for funding travel of Islamic State recruits to Syria

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested two men from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka for allegedly recruiting for Islamic State (IS) and for funding the travel of the recruits to Syria.

Ahamed Abdul Cader, 40, from Ramanathpuram in Tamil Nadu and Irfan Nasir, 33, from Frazer town in Bengaluru were arrested by the agency on Wednesday after their names cropped up during investigations in caseS related to the Islamic State. NIA sources said while Cader is a business analyst at a bank in Chennai, Irfan Nasir is a rice merchant based in Bengaluru.

The NIA, which registered a case in the matter on September 19, has called it the “Bengaluru-ISIS module”.

NIA said it has arrested the two “for having affiliation with the banned terrorist organization ISIS/ISIL/Daesh and for entering into a conspiracy to radicalize and motivate Muslim youth of Bengaluru to join ISIS, and for raising funds to facilitate their travel to Syria”.

The agency has claimed that the names of the duo surfaced during its probe into the March 2020 arrest of Kashmir residents Hina Bashir Beg (39) and her husband Jahanzaib Sami (36) from Jamia Nagar in Delhi. The two had been arrested by Delhi police on suspicion of being associated with Islamic State and organising anti-CAA protests in Delhi. Later NIA had taken their custody in connection with its probe into an IS terror conspiracy involving Hyderabad youth Abdullah Basith.

NIA has claimed that during this probe, one Dr Abdur Rahman alias Dr Brave from Bengaluru, was arrested. Rahman, an ophthalmologist based in the city was arrested as part of an investigation into a case registered in March against the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) module, for allegedly working briefly with the Islamic State in Syria in 2014.

“During his examination, names of his associates surfaced who had travelled to Syria in 2013-2014 to join ISIS. Further investigation resulted in busting of a module wherein it was revealed that accused Ahamed Abdul Cader, Irfan Nasir and their associates were members of Hizb-ut-Tehrir. They had formed a group called ‘Quran Circle’ which radicalised gullible Muslim youth in Bengaluru and funded their visit to conflict zone in Syria to aid and assist the ISIS terrorists,” NIA said in a statement.

NIA has claimed that Cader and Nasir arranged funds through various sources, including through “donations and own sources” Rahman’s visit to Syria. They similarly funded several other youth. “Two of such youth got killed in Syria,” NIA claimed.

The probe agency has registered cases under sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy), and 125 (waging war against any Asiatic Power in alliance with the Government of India) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 17 (raising funds for terrorist act), 18 (conspiracy) and 18b (recruitment or cause to recruit any person or persons for commission of a terrorist act) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

The agency has conducted searches at the residence of the two and claimed to have recovered “incriminating material” and electronic devices. Both the accused were produced before Special NIA Court, Bengaluru, and remanded to 10 days of NIA custody.

Source: India Express