COIMBATORE: A day after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) raided seven locations in Coimbatore and arrested the alleged mastermind of an Islamic State module, the city police on Thursday arrested three more persons said to be linked to the group and booked them under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
On Wednesday, NIA arrested Mohammed Azarudeen (32) and asked five other suspects to appear at its Kochi office on Thursday. The action was taken after it was found that Azarudeen was Facebook friends with Lankan Easter Blasts mastermind Zahran Hashim.
Searches began early Thursday morning, based on inputs from the Special Intelligence Cell. Several mobile phones, bank statements and storage devices have been seized. The trio is accused of spreading ISIS ideology through the internet to recruit ‘vulnerable youngsters’ and carry out terrorist attacks in south India.