BENGALURU/TUMAKURU/KARWAR/BELAGAVI : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday conducted searches at 13 premises of suspects of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) the banned global terrorist organisation in six states, including Karnataka.
In Tumakuru, a 20-member team of the NIA picked up a student of the HMS Unani Medical College on
Sunday morning, for his alleged links with ISIS. Hailing from Mumbai, the third year Unani student
was living in a rented house in the Sadashiva Nagar of the city. He was sharing the house, belonging to one Rangaswamy, with three other students for the last six months.
The NIA team is said to have seized his laptop and a passport besides collecting certain documents after conducting a search at the college situated off the ring road. The college previously belonged to former Congress MLA Dr Rafeek Ahmed, who clarified that he had sold the college about 15 years ago.
A team of NIA officials picked up two college students at Huppari in Maharashtra close to Koganoli checkpost in Belagavi. The identity of the suspects has not been revealed. The team, which also took four persons into custody at Shirguppi village, released three of them while the fourth person is said to
be in NIA custody.
Meanwhile, in an operation carried out in Bhatkal, Uttara Kannada district, an NIA team raided a house and detained a resident for his alleged nexus with the terrorist organisation. The NIA team, which questioned his brother, is also reportedly probing the involvement of his in-laws at Chinnadapalli in Bhatkal.
The NIA had registered a suo-moto case on June 25 under Sections 153A and 153B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc and whoever, by words, either spoken or written and punishment against imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integrity and Sections 18, 18 B, 38, 39 & 40 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). “The searches have led to the seizure of incriminating documents/material,” the NIA stated.