RANCHI: A joint team of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Delhi Police have arrested an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist Faizan Ansari from Jharkhand’s Lohardaga. NIA sources claimed that he was in contact with the ISIS network within and outside the country through the dark net.
Ansari was also said to be in contact with Pakistan’s intelligence agency. Later in the afternoon, he was produced before the NIA court and sent to Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi.
A student of Aligarh Muslim University, Ansari was living with his family in Lohardaga for the last two months and was operating from there. He came in contact with the ISIS network while studying at Aligarh Muslim University. NIA, along with other agencies, is said to have kept a tab on his activities for the last few weeks.
“Ansari was in regular contact with his handlers and was also trying to build a network in Jharkhand,” claimed NIA sources. Many incriminating videos, pen drives and other objectionable items related to radical Islamist ideology have been found from Ansari, they added.
As per the information received, the terrorist organization was trying to set up a strong network in Jharkhand and was in contact with several youths in and outside Lohardaga in Jharkhand.
His father Firoz Ansari, originally from Bihar, is working with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) on a contractual basis and had been living in Lohardaga for the last 20 years after constructing a house. After the arrest of Fizan Ansari, his parents and other family members went elsewhere after locking the house.