Four held for plot to pipe bomb' Hyderabad, Paris style attacks averted
Hyderabad: Major pipe bomb blasts and Paris style attacks were averted in the city as the NIA took four terror suspects linked to the ISIS module into custody in Hyderabad and seized explosives, gunpowder and ammonium nitrate.
The NIA officially arrested Mohammed Nafees Khan alias Fatima Khan alias Abu Zarrar alias Akram, 24 and Mohammed Shareef Moinuddin Khan, 54, an electricity worker. Both are residents of Tolichowki in Hyderabad.
Two other suspects identified as Mohammed Obaidullah Khan, 33, a resident of Tolichowki, and Abu Anas, 27, a native of Rajasthan, were arrested.
Read: Suspects not on Telangana cops’ radar
The NIA sleuths seized gunpowder, ammonium nitrate weighing 2 kg, a pipe (possibly to be used for making pipe bombs), timer and a booklet and videos on “making explosive devices” and Jihadi literature from them.
NIA grills Obaidullah, Abu Anas in custody
Telangana state Director General of Police Anurag Sharma confirmed to this newspaper that the NIA has taken four suspected terrorists linked to ISIS conspiracy case into custody.
NIA is still grilling Obaidullah and Abu Anas in custody and their arrest is not formalised yet.
Read: Hyderabad TWG staff shocked at Abu Anas’s arrest
Another police official said, “Though overall NIA had taken 14 suspects into custody only five have been arrested so far. Improvised Explosive Device making material, mobile phones, laptops, cash and videos have been seized. They were working on procuring more explosives, weapons, identifying locations to organise training camps, including training of firearms, motivating new recruits to target police officers, foreigners in India and to carry out terrorist activities in various parts of the country.”
Police said they had not procured fire arms so far. The NIA had launched a nationwide crackdown in connection with a conspiracy case booked with them RC-14/2015 /NIA/DLI with the Delhi branch. The case was registered on December 9, 2015, according to the ministry of home affairs orders by the Delhi NIA. Arrests were made in three to four other states. A CI cell official said, “They are looking for more suspects in Hyderabad.”
Read: NIA picks up 14 across country in ISIS crackdown
NIA said, “Credible information has been received by the Central government that the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) also known as Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or Dawlah-al Islamiyah fil-Iraq wash Sham (DAISH), an international terrorist organisation has been engaged in radicalisation of Indian youths and motivating them to join the terrorist organization as a result of which some Indian nationals have already joined it or are in the process of joining it for committing terrorist acts in the conflict zone of Iraq, Syria and Libya.”
