NIA Busts ISIS Terror Module In MP, 3 Arrested

Bhopal: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) busted an ISIS-linked terror module in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday.

Three persons were arrested from Jabalpur in an intelligence-led joint operation with Anti Terror Squad (ATS) of MP Police, reported Hindustan Times.

The trio of Syed Mamoor Ali, Mohammad Adil Khan and Mohammad Shahid — arrested during overnight raids conducted at 13 locations in Jabalpur on May 26 and 27 — will be produced in the NIA special court in Bhopal.

NIA officials have seized sharp-edged weapons, ammunition, incriminating documents and digital devices.

NIA had registered a case on May 24 during its probe into alleged pro-ISIS activities.

Adil Khan and his associates, who came under the agency’s lens in August 2022, are accused of disseminating ISIS propaganda through social media platforms and also through on-ground ‘Dawah’ programmes.

They had been conducting meetings/Dars in local masjids and houses, and hatching plans and conspiracies to carry out terror attacks in India, NIA said in a statement.

The accused trio was highly radicalised and determined to carry out violent jihad activities. They were engaged in collecting funds, disseminating ISIS propaganda material, motivating and recruiting youth, and trying to procure arms and ammunition with the objective of carrying out terrorist acts, the investigation found out.

According to NIA, Mamoor Ali had created a group by the name of ‘Fisbilillah’ and was operating a WhatsApp group by the same name. He and his associates were trying to procure pistols, and was in contact with a Jabalpur-based illegal arms supplier.

NIA informed that Adil had assembled an active group of Jabalpur-based like-minded radicalised individuals, some of whom were contemplating Hijrat (flight) to conflict theatres and others planned to form a local outfit for carrying out violent jihad in India.

The central agency came to know Adil was running multiple YouTube, Instagram and WhatsApp channels for motivating and recruiting youth into the ISIS fold.