NIA arrests 4 in Maharashtra for promoting terrorist activities

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on July 3 arrested four persons for allegedly promoting terrorist activities at the behest of global terrorist outfit Islamic State (IS).

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on July 3 arrested four persons for allegedly promoting terrorist activities at the behest of global terrorist outfit Islamic State (IS).

The central agency said it carried out searches and arrested Tabish Nasser Siddiqui from Nagpada, Mumbai; Zubair Noor Mohammed Shaikh alias Abu Nusaiba from Kondhwa, Pune; and Sharjeel Shaikh and Zulfikar Ali Barodawala from Padgha, Thane.

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The NIA in its press release stated that searches were conducted in the IS Maharashtra module case registered by the agency on June 28. “Preliminary investigations by the NIA have established that the accused had hatched a conspiracy to further the terrorist activities of IS. The accused were trying to breach the unity, integrity, security and sovereignty of the country and preparing to wage a war against the Government of India, as part of the IS conspiracy, by raising and operating a sleeper cell in Maharashtra,” the press release reads.

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The NIA alleged, “The accused and their associates had recruited youth and trained them in the fabrication of improvised explosive devices (IED) and small weapons like pistols. The accused had also shared relevant material, including ‘Do it Yourself kits’ and created inflammatory media content spreading terror and violence through a magazine Voice of Hind.”