The National Investigation Agency raided 30 locations in Tamil Nadu and Telangana in connection with ISIS radicalization and recruitment case on Saturday. The NIA personnel searched 25 locations in Tamil Nadu including Chennai and Coimbatore. The raids were also held in Telangana. A spokesperson of NIA said, several digital devices, documents and incriminating books in vernacular and Arabic languages, and Rs 60 lakh as well as USD 18,200 in cash were seized during the searches.
According to ANI, NIA slueths searched 21 locations in Coimbatore, three locations in Chennai, one location in Tenkasi and five places in Telangana's Hyderabad district.
The raids were conducted after fresh evidence emerged about an ISIS module. The tipoff revealed that the module could have links to Coimbatore suspects.
The cases were registered by NIA Chennai under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The UAPA pertains to clandestine operations by a group of individuals to radicalize gullible youth, the official said.
Early this September, the NIA detained a suspect for his role in the 2022 ISIS-inspired IED bomb bast in Coimbatore.
Investigations have shown that the ISIS-inspired provocateurs were spreading the "Khilafat" ideology, which is opposed to India's constitutionally established ideals of secularism and democracy, the official claimed, as per PTI.
"The individuals implicated in the case conspired to radicalise and enlist young people who were later discovered to be involved in terrorist as well as illegal crimes and activities. The Coimbatore vehicle bomb blast case of October 23, 2022, was one such terror incident, the official stated, as per the report.
The official stated that the case's investigations are still ongoing as part of the NIA's coordinated efforts to thwart ISIS attempts to recruit vulnerable and susceptible youth into the terrorist network that is actively sowing terror throughout the nation with the ultimate goal of upsetting and disrupting its peace and communal harmony.