HYDERABAD: Two youngsters were arrested from the city by the National Investigation Agency on Sunday for allegedly having links with ISIS operatives and their handlers in Syria. The accused, including a teenager, were allegedly in touch with Adnan Hassan, who was arrested by the NIA in 2016 on charges of radicalising Indian Muslim youngsters. The arrests have come just ahead of the Independence Day.
The accused are Md Abdullah Basith(24) of Hafiz Baba Nagar and Md Abdul Qhadeer(19) of Chandrayangutta. They were among the 20 suspects who were questioned earlier for allegedly pledging allegiance to ISIS. Now, the sleuths are trying to find out if the duo hatched any conspiracies or planned any terror attacks in the country.
Two others were arrested by the NIA in 2016 along with Adnan Hassan — Sheikh Azhar ul Islam and Mohammed Farhan Shaikh. They were accused of motivating and radicalising Indian Muslim youngsters on the behalf of ISIS to carry out terrorist activities. They were charged under Section 120B of IPC and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
While Sheikh Azhar ul Islam and Mohammed Farhan Shaikh pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment, the trial against Adnan Hassan is still going on. It was then that NIA received a fresh input that one Abdullah Basith based in Hyderabad was in touch with Hassan and a few others.
Based on this tip-off, the agency conducted searches across seven places Hyderabad on August 6. Sleuths claimed to have seized “certain incriminating materials” which they have sent to Central Forensic Science Laboratory in Hyderabad for analysis and data extraction.
Who is Basith?
In December 2015, three youngsters were arrested for allegedly planning to run away to Syria and join the ISIS. They had just Rs 90,000 cash in hand. They planned to ride to Nagpur via Adilabad; then take a flight from Nagpur to Kashmir; then cross over to Afghanistan and proceed to Syria. Md Abdullah Basith was one of the three accused.
The trio’s plans were busted by Telangana police who got in touch with Maharashtra ATS and nabbed them from the Nagpur airport.
Basith’s Syrian dream
In 2014, Basith along with two friends was caught in Kolkata while they were trying to reach Bangladesh as part of their plan to proceed to Syria. That time, they were counselled and let off
Who funded their plans?
Sleuths claim to have found that their plan to reach Syria was funded by Adnan Hassan. Basith is also the nephew of SIMI ex-president Syed Salahuddin who died in a road mishap in Nalgonda in October 2014.