NEW DELHI: India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday arrested 15 people that it claims are operatives of ISIS or Islamic State in raids across Maharashtra and Karnataka, PTI reported, quoting an agency official.
The arrested accused included the leader of an ISIS module who was administering 'bayath' (oath of allegiance) to new recruits, a spokesperson of the agency said.
Several NIA teams swooped down on as many as 44 locations in Padgha-Borivali, Thane, Mira Road and Pune in Maharashtra, and Bengaluru in Karnataka early Saturday morning, and apprehended the 15 accused for allegedly promoting terror and terror-related acts and activities of the proscribed organisation, the official said.