The National Investigative Agency (NIA) sleuths have arrested a man suspected to have affiliation with ISIS in Bengaluru. Zohaib Manna has been identified as a suspect involved in terrorist activities and was arrested on Wednesday, November 17. According to NIA sources, the sleuths were in search of the accused since 2020. The accused has allegedly been in touch with terrorist organizations such as ISIS and ISIL.
Zohaib Manna was allegedly involved in recruiting youngsters to terrorist organisations, especially to ISIS. He had allegedly created a group called 'Quoran Circle' and had provoked youngsters to pick up arms. The accused allegedly showed violent photos and videos from Syria to innocent youth to influence them. He allegedly sent several youngsters to Syria through Turkey from India.
The NIA had arrested rice merchant Irfan Nasir in Bengaluru, Ahammad Abdul Khader, a bank employee from Tamil Nadu, and a doctor Mohammad Toukeer Mehboob on charges of raising funds for ISIS in India. Investigations showed that the accused were funded to carry out anti-national activities in India.
The accused were allegedly in touch with Syrian ISIS terrorists, and lured youth, students and professionals from Bengaluru towards terrorism under the pretext of religious discourses. The accused have allegedly sent as many as seven batches of youth from India to Syria.
The accused camped in the outskirts of the city and acted as per instructions from Saudi Arabia. The group planned to create a strong ISIS terrorist organization in India, according to findings from the NIA’s probe.
Meanwhile, the NIA Special Court in Kerala on Wednesday, November 17, convicted an accused in the ISIS Kasaragod module case. Nashidul Hamzafar, aged 28 years, a resident of Kalpetta in Wayanad district of Kerala, was sentenced under different sections of the IPC in the case RC-02/2016/NIA/KOC. On Wednesday, the accused Nashidul Hamzafar pleaded guilty to all charges, and the NIA Special Court convicted him. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on November 23, an NIA release stated.
The case pertains to activities of fourteen youth from Kasargod district of Kerala, who along with their families had exited India between May and July, 2016 and joined the ISIS/Daish. The case originally registered at the Chandera police station, in Kasargod district, was re-registered by the NIA on August 24, 2016. Nashidul Hamzafar was named as the 16th accused in the case.
Nashidul Hamzafar had exited India on October 3, 2017 and travelled to Muscat, Oman before travelling to Iran and finally reached Kabul in Afghanistan. Afghan security agencies detained him in October 2017 for illegally entering the country and attempting to join his associates in the ISIS/Daish. The NIA had arrested Nashidul Hamzafar on September 18, 2018 after he was deported from Kabul to India. The NIA filed the charge-sheet against him on March 16, 2019.