india

Updated: Jun 20, 2019 21:33 IST

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday raided a 26-year-old young man’s residence at Coimbatore suspecting him of having links with terror outfit ISIS.

According to sources, NIA raided M Shinoid’s house in Kuniyamuthur, Coimbatore.

“We had already arrested 32-year-old Mohammed Azharudeen, a resident of Ukkadam in Coimbatore for having a Facebook page with pro-ISIS propaganda. He also had a Facebook friend called Zahran Hashim, the mastermind of Sri Lanka’s Easter bombings. While interrogating Azharudeen, he said that he has given two hard discs to Shinoid. Therefore, we raided his place at Kuniyamuthur in Coimbatore. During the raid, we retrieved two hard discs from Shinoid’s house. We told Shinoid that he would be summoned for an inquiry if needed,” NIA sources said.

Earlier, the NIA had conducted searches at seven locations in Coimbatore in connection with the ISIS Kerala-Tamil Nadu module on June 12 and 14.

The NIA has registered cases against Mohammed Azarudeen, a resident of Ukkadam in Coimbatore, Akram Sindhaa, aged 26, a resident of Tirumarai Nagar Phase-II, Podannur Road, Coimbatore, Y Shiek Hidayathullah, aged 38, a resident of South Ukkadam, Coimbatore, M Abubacker M, aged 29, a resident of Kuniyamuthur, Coimbatore, A Sadham Hussain, a resident of Ummar Nagar, Podannur Main Road, Coimbatore and Ibrahim alias Shahin Shah, aged 28, a resident of South Ukkadam, Coimbatore and others on May 30, 2019.

The cases were filed after information was received that the accused persons and their associates were propagating the ideology of proscribed terror organization ISIS on social media. Their intention was to recruit vulnerable youth into the ISIS for carrying out terror attacks in South India, especially in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Prime accused Mohammed Azarudeen is alleged to be the leader of the module and has been maintaining the Facebook page named “KhilafahGFX”, through which he had been propagating the ideology of ISIS. Azarudeen has been a Facebook friend of Sri Lankan suicide bomber Zahran Hashim and other members of the module have also been sharing radical content attributed to Zahran Hashim, over social media. Therefore, NIA took him in custody for further investigation, sources said.

Documents retrieved from the house of Y Shiek Hidayathullah had revealed that he has remained associated with proscribed terror organization the Students

Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). Hidayathullah was arrested on June 14.

Accused Ibrahim alias Shahin Shah has been a close associate of arrested accused Riyas Abubacker, who had planned to conduct terrorist attacks in Kerala, on behalf of the ISIS.

“During the searches carried out on June 12 and 14, the NIA seized digital devices including 14 mobile phones, 29 SIM cards, 10 pen drives, 3 laptops, 6 memory cards, 4 hard disc drives, 1 internet dongle and 13 CDs/ DVDs besides one dagger, one electric baton, 300 air-gun pellets and a large number of incriminating documents and few PFI/ SDPI pamphlets from the houses and workplaces of the accused,” NIA said in a statement.