Hyderabad: In a major step towards demolishing the ISIS anti-India module network, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday chargesheeted seven accused involved in the Bellary IS module case.
The seven accused, arrested earlier by NIA, have been charged with recruitment and radicalization of vulnerable youth as mujahideens to operate as terrorist sleeper cells. They were part of a bigger ISIS conspiracy to prepare 50 such sleeper cells in each district of India by 2025.
The accused were also involved in the fabrication of explosives for furtherance of the ISIS goal to establish the Caliphate System in India by waging jihad against the Central government.
The men, who were actively engaged in propagating the ISIS ideology, have been chargesheeted under various sections of IPC, UA(P) Act, Arms Act and Explosive Substances Act.
As per NIA investigations in the case, RC-03/2023/NIA/BLR, registered in December 2023, the Bellary module was inspired by the separatist and violent ideology of the proscribed terrorist organisation, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The sleeper cells were being prepared to carry out guerrilla attacks on the Indian soldiers, police and leaders of specific religious organisations. The improvised explosive devices prepared by the accused were meant to unleash terrorist violence in various parts of the country, NIA investigations have further revealed.
The accused had already carried out a trial blast in Bellary, Karnataka, and had also been sharing jihad related digital documents and data with other vulnerable youth. The NIA had, during investigation, seized explosive materials, sharp-edged weapons, digital devices containing propaganda magazines related to jihad, khilafat, fidayeen attacks published by various terrorist organisation including ISIS, and several incriminating documents/data exposing the ISIS roadmap for establishing Islamic rule in India.
Six of the chargesheeted accused had taken ‘bayath’ (pledge of allegiance) from their co-accused Md. Sulaiman alias Minaj, who had proclaimed himself as Amir of the group created by him. Besides Minaj, the others chargesheeted by NIA have been identified as Mohammed Muniruddin, Syed Sameer and Md. Muzammil, all residents of Karnataka, Anas Iqbal Shaikh, a resident of Maharashtra, Mohd. Shahbaz alias Zulfikar of Jharkhand, and Shayan Rehman alias Hussain of Delhi.
Further investigations are in progress to unravel the complete conspiracy and identify others involved in the same.
