Radicalisation: NIA raids in TS, 5 states

 Hyderabad: Expanding the ambit of its investigations into the Bengaluru Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) prison radicalisation case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday raided multiple locations in six states including Telangana and seized digital devices and incriminating documents and cash. Details with regard to the operation in Telangana were awaited.

During their raids on the suspects spread across Telangana state, Karnataka, Tamil Naidu, Punjab, Gujarat and West Bengal, they recovered 25 mobile phones, six laptops, and four storage devices besides various incriminating documents. They also recovered cash in both Indian rupees and the currency notes of various countries.

The raids involved extensive searches at the premise of Naveed,in Mangaluru (Karnataka) Syed Khail in Bengaluru (Karnataka), Bijju in Dakshina Kannada district (Karnataka), Mayur Chakraborty in West Bengal, Navjoth Singh in Gurdaspur in Punjab, Hardik Kumar and Saran Kumar in Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Johnson in Kasargod (Kerala), Mustaq Ahmed Sathikali and Mubith in Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu and Hassan al-Bassam in Chennai.

The central agency has been investigating the case (RC-28/2023/NIA/DLI) since October 25, 2023. On January 12, it chargesheeted eight persons including absconding accused, Junaid Ahmed and Salman Khan, under the IPC, UAPA, Arms Act and Explosives Substances Act.

Another accused, T. Naseer of Kerala's Kannur, is serving life sentence in the central prison in Bengaluru since 2013

The investigation revealed that the absconders had established a network of individuals across the country to promote the activity of LeT and to route funds to various individuals anonymously.

The case, relating radicalisation of inmates in Bengaluru Parappana Agrahara central prison, by a LeT terrorist, was originally registered by the Bengaluru city police following seizure of arms and ammunitions, including seven pistols, four hand grenades, one magazine and 45 live rounds along with four walkie talkies from the house of one of the accused.

According to the NIA, which took over the case in October last year, the investigations revealed that Naseer, who was involved in several blast cases, had come in contact with the other accused while they were lodged in the Bengaluru prison during 2017.

Naseer had managed to get all of them shifted to his barrack after a careful assessment of their potential with a view to radicalising and recruiting them into the proscribed terror group.

The NIA had said that Naseer first managed to radicalise and recruit Ahmed and Khan to further the activities of the LeT. Thereafter, he conspired with Ahmed to radicalise and recruit the other accused, the official said.

He also conspired with Khan to deliver arms, ammunition, hand grenades and walkie talkies to the others as part of a plot to carry out a “fidayeen (suicide)” attack and help Naseer escape from police custody enroute to court, the official said.

Further investigations in the case are continuing and efforts are on to nab the absconder, a press release issued by NIA on Tuesday stated.