Mohammed Arif, a software engineer from Uttar Pradesh, and Hamraz Worshid Shaikh, a resident of Thane, were both taken into custody during a combined operation by the NIA, ISD, and the local police on suspicion of having connections to Al-Qaeda.
A software engineer was held by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Internal Security Division (ISD) in Bengaluru on February 11, 2024, because of his alleged ties to the banned terrorist organization Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent. A search and seizure operation carried out in the suspect’s residence in Bengaluru’s Manjunath, Thanisandra Road, discovered his alleged ties to the Islamic State (IS) and his intentions to leave the country.
Mohammed Arif, a resident of Uttar Pradesh who was suspected of having ties to Al-Qaeda, was captured as a result of an investigation by the NIA, the ISD, and the local police. Arif is a software engineer for an IT firm in Bengaluru and is married with two children. According to police sources, Arif had plans to move his family to Uttar Pradesh before heading to Syria in March to join the Islamic State.
The Beginning
The operation that took place on Saturday was a continuation of a case that was initially reported to the Tilak Nagar police station on July 24, 2022, and featured the arrests of two suspected terrorists in Salem, Tamil Nadu, and Bengaluru, respectively.
A 23-year-old Assamese guy named Akhtar Hussain was apprehended inside his rented house in July 2022. He had over a year of experience as a food delivery executive. After concentrating on one of his colleagues who worked in the Salem textile industry, the NIA apprehended him after keeping an eye on him.
Authorities assert that the accused was using social media and a Telegram account to organize a meeting to discuss potential subversive acts with a terror group.
In cooperation with the ISD, the NIA re-registered the case on November 30 and is currently pursuing additional accused persons.
Statements by the Home Minister
Home Minister Araga Jnanendra of Karnataka claims that Arif was apprehended as a result of specific information. The Minister stated in a statement, “Following specific intelligence, the Bengaluru police detained Mohammed Arif from Thanisandra last night (February 10, 2024). He is being questioned.”
The Second Arrest
In a coordinated operation with the ISD and neighbourhood police in Thane, Maharashtra, the NIA also arrested Mohammed Arif. On the same day that Arif was arrested, a guy by the name of Hamraz Worshid Shaikh was also taken into custody on similar charges of taking part in a plot to use social media to radicalise adolescents and incite them to act violently and terroristically.
According to NIA authorities, “The two were detained for interrogation on Saturday during searches in Thanisandra, Bengaluru, and Palghar-Thane, Maharashtra. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) seized the two suspects on Sunday in connection with an investigation into a scheme by a terrorist group to radicalize teenagers and encourage them to engage in acts of terrorism and bloodshed.”
A few persons were held in the Shivamogga district last year on suspicion of having connections to ISIS, according to the NIA, who stated that the search operations were conducted as a result of an FIR.
“According to Mr. Jnanedra, the home minister of Karnataka, “anyone wanting to associate themselves with groups that wish to hurt India by stoking communal tensions will be repressed.”
As reported by Jivika Gulati
