NIA probes ISIS link to Telangana man

HYDERABAD: The National Investigating Agency (NIA) is probing into the life of a youth from Karimnagar for his alleged links with the ISIS. 

The youth Nouman Jaleel, from Karimnagar, is an accused in a case registered by NIA Chennai against nine persons. Of the nine persons accused in the case, eight are from Tamil Nadu and one is from Karimnagar. The case was registered in January last year after the ministry of home affairs asked the NIA to register a case suo motu and investigate it. 

The NIA filed a charge-sheet on Tuesday against four of the accused Haja Fakkurudhen, 42, a Singapore citizen of Indian origin and resident of Cuddalore; Khaja Moideen, 50, of Cuddalore; Shakul Hameed, 27, of Chennai and Ansar Meeran, 29 of Kanyakumari.

The NIA has booked cases for their alleged links with ISIS and hatching a conspiracy to carry out subversive activities in Chennai and other parts of the country. He is also linked to Haja Fakruddin from Tamil Nadu, who was one of the earliest to go to Syria to fight for ISIS. Police sources say that Jameel’s account in a Telangana bank was used to fund suspected ISIS activities.

The NIA in the chargesheet said that the prime accused Haja Fakkurudeen, had organised and attended several conspiracy meetings in India with his associates for raising funds and to recruit persons to the ISIS/ISIL/ Daish in 2013-14. He had subsequently joined the ISIS/ISIL/Daish in Syria along with his family during the last week of January 2014. When he was picked up by the NIA in 2016, Nouman had alleged at a press conference that he and another man Adnan Ahmed of Chandrayanagutta were forced to act as witness against 11 youth picked up by the NIA in June 2016 even though they did not know them. 

Nouman had said that he wanted to pursue higher education and was counselled and released. While the NIA filed a chargesheet against four persons on Tuesday, it told the court that it is further investigating into Nouman’s role and others.