An ISIS operative of 24 years is arrested in Varanasi by the National Investigation Agency
In connection with the ISIS “Voice of Hind” module case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted raids on two locations in Varanasi and Delhi on Wednesday, and arrested a 24-year-old “highly radicalized” man, the agency said, recruited Indian youths to wage war against the Indian State on behalf of ISIS.
According to the arrest report, Basit Kalam Siddiqui of Varanasi was involved in the creation, publication, and dissemination of propaganda for the Islamic State through the magazine ‘Voice of Khorasan’. According to his ISIS handlers in Afghanistan, he attempted to fabricate black powder explosives and to gain knowledge about using other lethal chemical substances to manufacture IEDs. Through several Telegram groups he operated, he also provided training on the making of explosives for the purpose of carrying out terrorist attacks against vital installations and civilians. As well as preparing for ‘hijrat’ to Khorasan, he was also planning to join ISIS terrorists in combat,” a spokesperson for the NIA indicated.
A number of incriminating items were seized by the NIA during searches, including handwritten notes related to the fabrication of IEDs and explosive substances, cell phones, laptops, and pendrives. “The case was filed suo motu by the NIA on July 29 last year, and it involves a conspiracy by ISIS, a proscribed terrorist organization, to radicalize and recruit impressionable youth in India in order to wage violent jihad against the Indian state by committing terrorist acts,” the spokesperson stated.
The spokesperson indicated that the online propaganda was being pushed through a new online magazine entitled ‘Voice of Khorasan’ following the busting of the ‘Voice of Hind’ module by the NIA and the arrest of six offenders, including an Amir of ISJK as part of a revised strategy,” the spokesperson stated. The NIA has filed this case in the NIA Special Court, Delhi, with a main and supplementary charge sheet against the six arrested individuals.
