KOCHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday interrogated a Chengankulangara native who is the member of the Islamic State (IS)-linked module which was planning attacks in Kerala. Muhammad Faisal Hammed, 25, was served a notice by the NIA to appear for interrogation after a Palakkad native was arrested for planning a suicide attack.
Muhammad Faisal who was in Qatar when he along with four members of the module were arraigned as accused in 2016 in the Kasargod IS case. He landed at Nedumbassery airport on Tuesday. Responding to the notice, he appeared at the NIA office in Kochi on Wednesday morning.
According to sources, the interrogation of Muhammad Faisal continued from morning to evening. He will be interrogated again on Thursday. In a similar fashion, the NIA had interrogated two Kasargod residents who were part of the module. However, the agency decided not to arrest them as they did not support suicide attacks for which Palakkad native Riyas Aboobacker was prepared by IS operatives from abroad.
The NIA is looking to receive more information about Keralities who joined the IS at Syria and Afghanistan by interrogating Muhammad Faisal. Similarly, he is likely to provide information about any links of the module with Sri Lanka carnage mastermind Zaharan Hashim.
Earlier, the agency had found that IS operatives from Kerala - Rashid Abdullah, Ashfaq Majeed, Abdul Khayoom - contacted the module members for furthering IS operations in the state. The members of the module were also following speeches and videos of Zahran Hashim and controversial preacher Zakir Naik.