A suspected ISIS operative from Kerala was charge-sheeted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) before the NIA Special Court in Poonamallee, Chennai.
According to the NIA, the case was initially filed by the ‘Q’ Branch CID, Chennai City Police Station against Syed Ali, 31, a resident of Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram district, in connection with the arrest of a group of people who conspired in Salem and Chennai to fraudulently activate Airtel and Vodafone SIM cards using multiple identity documents without the knowledge or consent of the people involved.
Upon investigation, it was found that the accused had utilized the SIM cards for terrorist operations. On January 21, the NIA re-registered the case and took over the investigation. An investigation by NIA found that these SIM cards were given to ISIS terrorists Liyakath Ali and Khaja Moideen.
On Tuesday, NIA charged Syed Ali under sections 120B, 471, and 201 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), sections 18, 38, and 39 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967, and Sections 4 and 5 of Explosive Substances Act, 1908.
NIA added, “Syed Ali had assisted Khaja Moideen in using the dark web, encrypted communication to communicate with a foreign-based handler and had also participated in conspiracy meetings and arranged safe hide-outs. In order to further this conspiracy, he had also procured explosive materials and gadgets to experiment with IEDs.”
The case is currently being investigated further.
(with inputs from Kathir news)
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