NIA arrests ISIS module leader among 15 operatives in Maharashtra, Karnataka

NEW DELHI: In a massive crackdown on the ISIS terrorist organisation, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday arrested its 15 operatives during multiple raids across Maharashtra and Karnataka, an official said.

The arrested accused included the leader of an ISIS module who was administering ‘bayath’ (oath of allegiance) to new recruits, a spokesperson of the federal anti-terror agency said.

Several NIA teams swooped down on as many as 44 locations in Padgha-Borivali, Thane, Mira Road and Pune in Maharashtra, and Bengaluru in Karnataka early Saturday morning, and apprehended the 15 accused for allegedly promoting terror and terror-related acts and activities of the proscribed organisation, the official said.

Huge amounts of unaccounted cash, firearms, sharp-edged weapons, incriminating documents, smart phones and other digital devices were seized during the raids, conducted as part of the NIA’s ongoing efforts to disrupt and demolish the attempts of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), to carry out violent acts of terror and take innocent lives, the spokesperson said.

The official said the accused, operating on the directions of their foreign handlers, had been actively involved in various terrorist activities, including fabrication of improvised explosive devices, for furthering the violent and destructive agenda of the ISIS.

The ISIS has been spreading its terror network in India by putting in place localised ISIS modules.