BENGALURU: For the first time, the name of Hizb-ut-Tehrir (HT) or the ‘Party of the Liberation,’ a radical Islamist organisation, has found mention in a terror-related investigation in India. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has busted a Bengaluru-based Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)-Daesh module and arrested a business analyst and a rice merchant, who are said to be members of HT and were allegedly part of a religious study circle which was “radicalising gullible Muslim youths in Bengaluru and had funded the travel of some to Syria to join ISIS,” said an NIA spokesperson.
The names of two accused — business analyst Ahamed Abdul Cader (40) of Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu, and rice merchant Irfan Nasir (33) of Frazer Town in Bengaluru — had cropped up during the interrogation of Dr Abdur Rehman alias Dr Brave, the young ophthalmologist, who was arrested by NIA from Bengaluru in August.
According to the agency, Cader, Nasir and their associates had funded the travel of Rehman and some other Muslim youths from Bengaluru to conflict-ridden Syria in 2013-14. Dr Rehman has reportedly admitted to the NIA that he had attended camps in Syria as a medical student. The NIA arrested Cader and Nasir on October 7 and has reportedly seized incriminating material and electronic devices from their locations in Guruppanapalya and Frazer Town in the city.
The Hizb-ut-Tehrir (HT) is an Islamist group which was founded in 1953 in East Jerusalem by a radical activist, Muhammad Sheikh Taqiuddin-al-Nabhani from Haifa, Jordan. The organisation calls for the establishment of the Caliphate in the Muslim world under the Shariah.
Duo created group to radicalise Muslim youths
In August last year, after the Union Government abrogated Article 370 and revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, HT had reportedly organised a protest outside the ‘India House’ in London during the Independence Day celebrations. According to some security analysts, though it has not set up office in India, HT has a dedicated committee to radicalise Indian Muslim youths on social media to further its propaganda. “During Rehman’s examination, the names of his associates who had travelled with him to Syria in 2013-2014 to join ISIS, had surfaced.
Further investigation resulted in the busting of a module wherein it was revealed Cader, Nasir and their associates were members of Hizb-ut- Tehrir and they had formed a group called ‘Quran Circle,’ which radicalised gullible Muslim youths in Bengaluru and funded their visit to the conflict zone in Syria to aid and assist ISIS terrorists,” the NIA spokesperson stated.
The federal counter-terror agency had registered a suo-motu case (RC-33/2020/NIA/DLI ) on September 19 after “certain incriminating facts emerged about a Bengaluru-based ISIS module during the investigation of Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) case,” added the NIA official. The NIA will investigate how Cader and Nasir were indoctrinated in radical ideology and their source of funding.
The NIA has invoked Sections 120B, 125 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 17, 18 & 18B of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against the accused persons for having “affiliation with the banned terror organisation ISIS and for entering into a conspiracy to radicalise and motivate Muslim youths of Bengaluru to join ISIS and raising funds through donations and own sources to facilitate their travel to Syria,” the officer added. “Cader and Naris were produced before Special NIA Court on Thursday and have been remanded to NIA custody for 10 days,” said the officer.
Second biggest ISIS module
The NIA, in July, had chargesheeted 17 accused in the Karnataka ISIS module case, including key accused Mehboob Pasha of Bengaluru and Khaja Moiudeen of Cuddalore. This is the second biggest ISIS module unearthed after the 22-member group in Kasargod, Kerala.