Not Kerala, TN and UP has maximum arrests in ISIS-related cases: NIA

The agency said 127 people have been arrested in connection with cases linked to the ISIS from across 14 states.

The IS members arrested from Kannur and Kozhikode being produced before NIA court in Kochi on Monday (File photo | EPS/Albin Mathew)

NEW DELHI:  The NIA on Monday said 127 people have been arrested in connection with cases linked to the ISIS from across 14 states and most of them were inspired by controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik. Some of the arrested accused have also revealed that they were radicalised by videos and speeches of Zahran Hashim, the mastermind behind the Easter Day bombings in Sri Lanka, according to the NIA.

Maximum arrests in ISIS-related cases (33) were made from Tamil Nadu followed by Uttar Pradesh (19), Kerala (17), Telangana (14), Maharashtra (12), Karnataka (8) and Delhi (7). The NIA also arrested four people each from Uttarakhand and West Bengal, three from Jammu and Kashmir, two each from Rajasthan and Gujarat and one person each from Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.

NIA Inspector-General Alok Mittal shared the information at the conference of chiefs of ATS and STF. “During interrogation, most of the accused said they were inspired by Zakir Naik and some other Islamic preachers,” Mittal said. He added that Hashim’s name cropped in three ISIS-linked cases from Kerala and TN.