KOCHI: In the presence of French authorities probing the 2015 Paris attack, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) will grill Thodupuzha native Subahani Haja Moideen, an accused in the Kanakamala Islamic State (IS) case, from December 5 to 7.
The French delegation sought permission from the NIA Court to interrogate Subahani, who recently fought for IS in Syria and Iraq, at the Viyyur Central Jail where he is lodged. The NIA would facilitate the French team as per the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty signed by both countries.
"The French delegation has completed the visa procedure. An NIA team comprising officers from New Delhi and Kochi will assist them. A translator's service will also be provided," sources said. NIA officers in Kochi are tight-lipped about the development claiming the matter is directly handled by its headquarters in New Delhi. Similarly, they are unaware of the French delegation's travel details.
Last year, NIA officers from Delhi and Kochi had travelled to France to share information on the Paris attack incident, including persons involved in the attack.Subahani had told the NIA he was working for an IS regiment named Omer-Kathi-Kaliph. One Abu Sulaimani Al Francisse was the group’s commander. During his stay at the regiment, some of the persons involved in the Paris attack, including Abdel Hamid, Abdesalam and Mohammad Usman, visited Abu Sulaimani.
Security agencies shot Hamid dead while the other two are still in French investigation team’s custody.
Subahani, who reached Iraq via Turkey, was trained at an IS camp before his induction into the terror outfit. He decided to return to India after seeing one of his friends charred to death in the battlefield.
Subahani was lodged at a jail in Raqqa, Syria, before he was released after he agreed to work for the jihadi group after reaching India. He was arrested by the NIA in October 2016, when the investigators busted an IS module which was planning attacks in various sensitive places in South India. Apart from it, the group also targeted judges of the Kerala High Court, police officers and politicians. Currently, Subahani is facing trial at the NIA Court in Kochi.