NIA Arrests 9 Suspected Al Qaeda Operatives from West Bengal, Kerala
india: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested nine suspected terror operatives following raids in West Bengal and Kerala on a group allegedly linked to Al Qaeda.
An NIA spokesperson said that the agency carried out the simultaneous raids at several locations in Kerala’s Ernakulam and West Bengal’s Murshidabad after learning about an inter-state module of Al Qaeda operatives at various locations in India.
The spokesperson said the inter-state module has been operational for some time and was planning to carry out terror attacks at vital installations in India.
“The group was planning to undertake terrorist attacks at vital installations in India with an aim to kill innocent people and strike terror in their minds,” the spokesperson said, adding that it had registered a case on September 11.
The official said that the NIA has made six arrests from West Bengal and three from Kerala in the early morning raids.
During the raids, large quantity of materials including digital devices, documents, “jihadi” literature, sharp weapons, country-made firearms, a locally fabricated body armour, articles and literature used for making home-made explosive devices have been seized from their possession.
“As per preliminary investigation, these individuals were radicalised by the Al Qaeda terrorists on social media and were motivated to undertake attacks at multiple places including the National Capital Region,” the official said.
The official said that the module was actively indulging in fund raising and a few members of gang were planning to travel to New Delhi to procure arms and ammunition.
Those arrested have been identified as Murshid Hasan, Iyakub Biswas and Mosaraf Hossen, all three residents of Ernakulam.
Najmus Sakib, Abu Sufiyan, Mainul Mondal, Leu Yean Ahmed, Al Mamun Kamal and Atitur Rehman, all residents of Murshidabad.
The official said that they will be produced before the concerned Courts in Kerala and West Bengal for police custody and further investigation.
