BENGALURU: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has so far arrested 25 people for their suspected links with banned global terror organisation - Daesh from across India. Out of the 25, Karnataka tops the list of alleged Daesh sympathisers with eight arrests so far by the agency.
The head count of suspected Daesh sympathisers from the State increased after the NIA on Friday took over the investigation in a case involving Mohammad Sirajuddin, son of Mohammad Sarwar of Kalburgi, who was arrested in December last year in Jaipur for alleged links with Daesh increasing the figures given by the Ministry of Home Affairs recently from seven to eight.
According to the Union Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary the NIA had till recently arrested 24 accused out of whom seven each are from Karnataka and Maharashtra, four from Telangana, three from Uttar Pradesh one each from Jammu and Kashmir and Tamil Nadu, Sirajuddin is the eighth alleged Daesh sympathiser from Karnataka.
He was working with the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) in Jaipur, when he was arrested under Sections 13, 18 and 38(1) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act by the Rajasthan Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS), on the grounds of being “actively associated in promoting the ideology of Daesh and inciting other persons to become member of the banned terror organisation through the use of online social media forums and exhorting them to indulge in terrorist and anti-national activities,” said an NIA source. Sirajuddin was earlier working in Bengaluru before being transferred to Jaipur in 2014 by the IOC.
