Bengaluru prison radicalisation case: NIA raids underway in multiple locations across 7 states
BENGALURU: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is conducting searches at 17 places across seven states in the Bengaluru prison radicalization case on Tuesday.
The searches follow the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case last weekend in Bengaluru in which around 10 people were injured, one of them suffered 40 per cent burn injuries and is in the ICU.
The Central agency in December last year had raided multiple locations across Bengaluru in a case relating to radicalization of some prisoners by a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist and life convict – T Nazeer - who was arrested for his involvement in the 2008 serial blasts in the city and is currently lodged in the Bengaluru Central prison.
The NIA had subsequently raided 19 locations across four states including 11 locations in Karnataka in connection with the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq (ISIS) network case and reportedly busted a “highly radicalised jihadi
network.
In Karnataka, the Central counter-terrorism agency had raided locations in Bengaluru and Ballari district. Besides Karnataka, the NIA had conducted raids at four locations in Jharkhand, three in Maharashtra, and one in Delhi.
During the raids, the NIA reportedly recovered some incriminating material including unaccounted cash, digital devices, sensitive documents and some ammunition.
The investigation in the ISIS network in India so far has revealed the involvement of some foreign handlers, who are radicalizing vulnerable Muslim youth to conduct terrorist activities in their regions and create a sense of instability, said sources.
In July last year, the Bengaluru city police, on inputs from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) had busted an alleged terror module in Bengaluru, and arrested five terror suspects, who were reportedly radicalized by Nazeer.
The suspects — Syed Suhel Khan, 24, Mohammed Umar, 29, Zahid Tabarej, 25, Syed Mudaseer Pasha, 28, and Mohammed Fazil, 30 — were working as mechanics and drivers and were earlier arrested by the RT Nagar police in connection with the kidnap and murder of a businessman, Noor Ahmed, along with the prime accused, Junaid Ahmed in 2017. Ahmed is said to have fled India and was allegedly last spotted in the UAE.
The raid and arrests had yielded significant evidence, including seven country-made pistols, 45 live rounds of ammunition, walkie-talkie
sets, a dagger, 12 mobile phones and four live grenades, which were not manufactured in India, the Central Crime Branch of Bengaluru police had stated.
The investigation in unearthing of the terror module had revealed
that Nazeer had allegedly radicalised a gang of hardened criminals in
Parappana Agrahara Central prison, who in turn had radicalized more
youths to put together the alleged module.
