KOCHI: Subahani is familiar to several French IS fighters, including some involved in the Paris attack, officers said. “However, the French agencies have been asked to provide the letter rogatory to NIA Court for getting access to Subahani. We have also asked them to specify the details regarding the investigation they would carry out by interrogating him,” an NIA officer said.
The officer said once the letter rogatory is received, Subahani’s custody will be sought. “By then, visa procedure will be completed. We expect the officers from France to arrive by the end of December or early January. We are still working on the legal issues by which the court can grant us custody of Subahani so the French agency can quiz him. Since the chargesheet against him has already been filed, we have to examine the legal proceedings,” the officer said.
The NIA team had visited France in April this year to share information they have about Subahani Haja Moideen. After the arrest, he had confessed about foreign fighters, including the French national who led the IS unit in Mosul. He was working for the IS regiment named Omer-Kathi-Kaliph. During Subahani’s stay at Mosul, Abdel Hamid, Abdesalam and Mohammad Usman - involved in the Paris attack - had visited the training camp to meet Frenchman Abu Sulaiman, the commander of the regiment. Abdel Hamid was shot dead by the security agencies while other two are still in the custody of the French investigation team.