NEW DELHI: The probe into the role of the so-called Islamic State in train accidents has set investigators on the trail of Satya Sandesh Foundation ( SSF ), an NGO that claims to be dedicated to Islamic preaching, and an IS recruit Ahsan, possibly the first person born Shia but working for the Sunni group.The National Investigation Agency NIA ) is probing how activists of the Kanpurbased foundation, linked to IS members behind the Bhopal-Ujjain train blast, promptly reached the site of the Kanpur train accident on November 20, 2016.During investigations into the March 7 train blast, the NIA discovered that Ahsan (see graphic), who attended a July 2016 meeting at a plot owned by the Kanpur-Lucknow module's `amir' Atif Muzaffar near Kanpur, was the son of an SSF follower.Ahsan opting for Ahle Hadith is unusual as Shias have been locked in a bitter armed conflict with IS in West Asia with Sunni hardliners, who regard them as non-Muslims.According to an investigator, though SSF officially claims to propagate Quranic teachings, it is known to work actively on conversions to Islam. Some Hindus have been converted through SSF, he added.What has really baffled the NIA is that SSF activists swiftly reached the site of the Patna-Indore Express derail ment last year. “It needs to be verified how they came to know about the accident so quickly ,“ said an officer.Interestingly, members in the IS-inspired module associated with SSF had trained extensively in derailment methods. The NIA suspects a former Indian Air Force staffer in the module, G M Sahab, was an ISI mole as he had been advising the group on derailment of trains through explosives etc.The lens on the IS module's link with the Kanpur derailment coincides with the NIA's probe into the claims of an accused arrested over a failed bid to blast tracks in Bihar. Motilal Paswan had, in his initial statement to Bihar police, claimed that he was involved in planting the bomb at Kanpur at the instance of Nepalese handler Brij Kishore Giri.NIA investigations in Nepal have seen them question ISI linkman Shamshul Hoda , who is said to have admitted that he had, at the behest of ISI, engaged criminals for the Bihar bid. But he has not spoken of any role in the Kanpur derailment. Giri could not be questioned by the NIA team as he is still recuperating from a bullet injury .A group comprising IIT experts is looking at evidence to establish the possibility of an explosion having caused the derailment.The NIA is still awaiting metallurgical reports for the Koneru train accident to get indications of a possible sabotage angle.