The central anti-terror agency conducted raids at 40 locations in Maharashtra this morning, resulting in the arrest of 13 individuals in connection with an ISIS conspiracy case. Additionally, the National Investigating Agency carried out a raid in Karnataka related to the same case.
The 40 locations under investigation include areas in Thane, Pune, and Mira Bhayandar. The majority of these places, 31 in Thane Rural and 9 in Thane city, are in close proximity to Mumbai. In Pune, raids are taking place at two locations, and one in Mira Bhayandar.
These early morning operations were initiated after two individuals, initially arrested in a theft case, were discovered to have links with ISIS. Subsequently, the case was transferred to the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad. According to NDTV reports, in a previous arrest in August, Aakif Ateeque Nachan, a suspect allegedly involved in manufacturing explosives, became the sixth individual apprehended in connection with an ISIS terror module case. The National Investigating Agency had arrested five others a month earlier, including Tabish Nasser Siddiqui from Mumbai, Zubair Noor Mohammed Shaikh alias Abu Nusaiba, and Adnan Sarkar from Pune, along with Sharjeel Shaikh and Zulfikar Ali Barodawala from Thane.
What is the case about? - As per the report, the case is about a criminal conspiracy hatched by the 13 accused and their associates, who pledged to the extremist ideology of terrorist organisations including ISIS and Al-Qaeda and formed a gang. ANI reported the group was formed with the intent of recruiting youth and promoting violent jihad to establish Islamic rule in India.