The National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted raids at 20 locations across nine states and one Union Territory on Wednesday, as part of an ongoing investigation into an online radicalisation case. The case involves alleged attempts to promote the ideology of ISIS and Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), with the ultimate goal of establishing an Islamic state in India through violent jihad.
The searches were carried out in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Delhi. According to an NIA spokesperson, several digital devices were seized during the operation and will be sent for forensic examination to gather further evidence about the alleged conspiracy.
So far, 11 people have been arrested and a minor has been apprehended in connection with the case. The NIA took over the investigation from the Vijayawada police in May this year, after the police booked the case in March following the recovery of incriminating material linked to AQIS and ISIS from the residence of a key accused, Rehmatullah Sharif Mohammad.
The NIA alleged that the arrested accused and their associates were engaged in indoctrinating vulnerable young people across the country through violent jihadi content and misinformation. They were also allegedly in online contact with foreign handlers to spread jihadi ideology and further an anti-India conspiracy.
The agency is working to identify others allegedly involved in the conspiracy to destabilise the country and establish a caliphate. The searches were based on a detailed technical analysis of digital devices seized earlier, connectivity analysis of the arrested accused, and other findings gathered during the investigation, the spokesperson added.
