As part of nationwide operation raids by the IB sleuths against terror outfits in the country, two more including a college student were arrested in Tamil Nadu which has become a safe haven for fundamentalist and anti-national outfits.
Central Intelligence bodies like IB and RAW have alerted that the Salafi radicals who owe allegiance to ISIS and Al Qaeda as these foreign terror groups might organize attacks. The NIA arrested three youths in Erode and Salem before they could launch attacks on TN soil and elsewhere last week. Now two more have been detained.
In a joint operation by IB, RAW and TN Q branch, SB-CID, A 22-year-old third-year engineering college student Meer Anar Ali, a resident of Neelikollai mosque street at Ambur in Tiruppattur district was arrested on suspicion of having links with terror outfits. Ambur, Vaniyambadi and parts of Vellore are Muslim-dominated areas. The team searched Ali’s house for an hour and seized a laptop, two mobile phones and other electronic gadgets. It was found that Ali has been sharing posts and pictures shared by proscribed Islamic outfits on their websites on his Instagram page and other social media platforms. Sources said, Hakthar Hussain who was arrested from Ulsoor in Karnataka where he was hiding, was linked to Al Qaeda. Based on his inputs, five people from a family from Manickampalayam and a student, a West Bengal resident, from Salem Sevapettai were detained for questioning. They mentioned the name of Anar Ali. A close watch on Ali by agencies throws light on his frequent calls to overseas people. Further probe is on to ascertain if more people were involved in his contacts.
When questioned, Ali said that he was in contact with Hakthar Hussain from Bengalaru (arrested recently) and both were getting instructions from Al Qaeda, and ISIS to carry out terror activities in Tamil Nadu and other places. Ali said his handlers were paying him Rs.30,000 per month to enrol members for the outfits. Based on his information, police arrested a 20-year-old youth A Ashik, son of Afrose , a school dropout, from Chinnaswamy street at Fort (Kottai) a densely populated area. He was working in a silver anklet-making unit. He is a native of Dharmapuri district. It is learnt that he has been in contact with IS operatives in Iraq for the past one year through a mobile application. Sources said “at first terrorists had introduced themselves as Iraqi security force members but later revealed that they were from IS. Ali refused to go to Iraq to join IS when asked to do so. He dropped out of class IX but he spoke and wrote fluently in English”.
Now movements, links and phone conversations of migrant workers from West Bengal, Bihar are being closely monitored, says agency sources. Already a large number of people from northern states and Rohingya Muslims are working in Tirupur, Coimbatore, Salem and other places with ration, Aadhar Card and other essential documents obtained through the agents who bring them here.
