NIA officials from Kerala have arrested a 26-year-old, Alphasit or Al Fazid, from Thirumullaivasal (a coastal village) in Mayiladuthurai district, Chennai, for his alleged links to the banned ISIS terror organization. The agency busted an ISIS module active in Tamil Nadu on January 28, right under the nose of the Greater Chennai Police Commissionerate, which is located just a kilometer away from where he was working.
According to Scarlet Heart in his X handle, he says, “Alphazith, a private ambulance driver in Chennai, was arrested for recruiting individuals for ISIS. Al Fazith was actively recruiting for ISIS, brainwashing youngsters and college students through WhatsApp. NIA is also set to investigate students and youngsters who were part of the WhatsApp group used for ISIS recruitment and radicalization.”
Alphazith a private ambulance driver in Chennai arrested for recruiting individuals for IS!S.
Alphazith was actively recruiting for IS!S, brainwash!ng youngsters and college students through WhatsApp.
NIA is also set to investigate students and youngsters part of the WhatsApp… pic.twitter.com/TPWTUuu2hD
— Scarlet Heart 🐬 (@_Saffron_Girl_) January 28, 2025
Media reports say Al Fasit (Alfaseeth) worked as a driver for a private ambulance service in Chennai for over eight months in the Purasawalkam area. He was allegedly recruiting and propagating for ISIS and was the head of the TN unit of ISIS. Officials took him into custody and subjected him to a grueling interrogation at their Chennai Purasawalkam office.
#JUSTIN || 20 இடங்களில் என்.ஐ.ஏ. சோதனை
சென்னை மற்றும் மயிலாடுதுறையில் 20 இடங்களில் தேசிய புலனாய்வு முகமை அதிகாரிகள் சோதனை
IS தீவிரவாத இயக்கத்துடன் தொடர்பில் இருப்பதாக கிடைத்த தகவலின் அடிப்படையில் சோதனை#IS | #NIA | #TNPolice | #Chennai | #Mayiladudurai | #ThanthiTV pic.twitter.com/tThM6HwyER
— Thanthi TV (@ThanthiTV) January 28, 2025
The arrest comes after a lengthy investigation, and the NIA has alleged that Al Fasit was in touch with ISIS handlers and was spreading the outfit’s ideology in Tamil Nadu through WhatsApp and other social media platforms to mislead young individuals.
Based on specific intelligence inputs, the anti-terror premier agency conducted raids at over 16 locations across the state. Some reports state that the NIA conducted searches at 25 locations, including Chennai and Mayiladuthurai. The NIA conducted raids at Thirumullaivasal at the premises of Al Fazith and Sadiq.
மயிலாடுதுறையில் என்.ஐ.ஏ. சோதனை#Mayiladuthurai | #NIA pic.twitter.com/AlIl4O5g8t
— PttvOnlinenews (@PttvNewsX) January 28, 2025
Reports say raids were conducted at five places in Chennai based on information linked to ISIS terrorist activities and 15 places in Mayiladuthurai district. During the raids, the NIA seized pen drives, hard disks, and other digital materials. It is alleged that Al Fazith had links with ISIS handlers, particularly with one Sadiq, who is wanted by Central agencies, and was engaged in radicalizing college students on ISIS ideology through social media with the intention of recruiting them.
Two days ago, the NIA arrested two accused who were on the run in connection with the Thirubuvanam Ramalingam murder case, which was related to a standoff over religious preaching and conversion. The agency has intensified its crackdown on ISIS in Tamil Nadu following his murder and the arrest of ex-college faculty member Amir Hussain, his father Mansoor, and his brother Abdul Rahmen from Royapettah, along with a dozen others for links with the banned Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT). The NIA is also investigating the car-borne IED explosion near the Coimbatore Kottai Sangameshwarar Temple at Ukkadam, a day before Diwali in 2022. The state police initially claimed it was an LPG cylinder explosion until the NIA took over the probe.
While the NIA has been conducting raids and making arrests, the intelligence wing of the state government has reportedly not contributed any inputs and appears to have been completely unaware of the existence of these terror modules and their operations.
