NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday raided 22 locations across five states and the Union territory of Jammu & Kashmir as part of its ongoing investigation into a major terror conspiracy case, officials said.
They said that the places, which were searched, included nine premises in Jammu & Kashmir, eight in Bihar, two in Uttar Pradesh and one each in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
The officials said that the raids were conducted with the active support of respective state police forces and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, as the case under investigation pertained to a terror conspiracy, the recruitment of youth for terrorist activities, the raising of funds and the establishment of sleeper cells for carrying out unlawful activities across different parts of the country.
They said that even though the official details of the exercise across the country were yet to be received at the agency’s headquarters, the raiding teams are believed to have seized electronic gadgets, digital records, incriminating documents and communication devices.
They would now be sent for forensic and technical analysis.
During the searches, the NIA sleuths examined several residential premises and business establishments suspected of being linked to individuals associated with radical groups in the states and the UT.
A source said, “The evidence collected is expected to play a crucial role in establishing connections between suspects and banned outfits operating both within India and across the borders.”
The officials said that the focus of the raids was Jammu and Kashmir, as residential premises searched belong to suspected persons believed to have links with networks operating outside India.
In recent months, the NIA has intensified its crackdown on terror funding, recruitment modules and sleeper cells operating across regions.
Similar nationwide operations have earlier led to arrests of several suspects allegedly linked to banned organisations and their attempts to radicalise youth through online and offline channels.
The operation comes amid the central government’s repeated emphasis on a zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism and directives to security agencies to strengthen preventive action against such threats.