ISIS module case: NIA arrests one man in Ludhiana

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday arrested one man in Ludhiana in connection with the ISIS-inspired terror module case.

The arrested man, identified as Mohammad Ovesh Pasha was a 'maulvi' at a mosque located in Meharbaan village on Ludhiana-Chandigarh road.

The searches were carried out by the NIA today at seven places in western Uttar Pradesh and Punjab in connection with the investigation of the recently busted ISIS-inspired terror module.

The raid on the mosque was conducted on Wednesday night by a team of NIA along with the Punjab Police. The arrested man is suspected to be part of the ISIS module, busted in Uttar Pradesh recently. He had come to Ludhiana seven months ago and earlier studied in a 'Madarsa' in UP, where he allegedly got in touch with ISIS operatives.

Though the NIA denied any arrests, Ludhiana Police confirmed the arrest. Police said that the arrested man was booked under Sections of the UAP Act, Sections 120-A, 121-B and 122 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 4/5 of the Explosives Act.

On December 26 last year, the NIA had busted an ISIS-inspired terror module, targeting important personalities including politicians and vital installations, by raiding 17 locations in Delhi and UP and had held 10 persons from whom cash, mobile phones, SIM cards, arms and ammunition including a rocket launcher were recovered.

NIA had identified Mufti Mohammad Suhail alias Hazrath, son of Hafiz Ahmad, a native of Amroha, as the mastermind of the module.

"Vital installations, important places, important personalities, and crowded places were on their targets. The level of preparation suggests that they planned to do an attack at the earliest. They were focusing on remote control bombs as well as Fidayeen attack," NIA IG Alok Mittal had said.

Searches had been conducted at 17 locations in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi in connection with a new ISIS-styled terror module 'Harkat-ul-Harb-e-Islam' which was in an advanced stage of carrying out a series of blasts. Searches have been conducted in Delhi's Seelampur and UP's Amroha, Hapur, Meerut, and Lucknow.

Large quantities of explosive material, weapons, and ammunition including a country made rocket launcher have been recovered during searches. Rs 7.5 lakh cash was recovered during the raids along with nearly 100 mobile phones, 135 SIM cards, laptops, and memory chips.

"After initial interrogation of 16 suspects, we have decided to arrest 10 accused. The current information suggests the entire planning was largely self-funded. Some accused have stolen gold from their homes and purchased alarm clock, explosive instruments, and other materials," Mittal had said.