NIA arrests two from Hyderabad in terrorist conspiracy case

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday confirmed the arrest of two persons in connection with the ongoing investigation of a terrorist conspiracy case in Hyderabad.

The NIA said that Mohammad Ataullah Rehman was arrested for his key role in the conspiracy.

He was involved in radicalising group members and also administered Bayah, the oath of allegiance, to the Khalifa- Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi.

Rehman, a resident of Hyderabad, participated in several conspiracy meetings as was revealed by the other co-accused arrested in this case.

The NIA further said that Naimathullah Hussaini, a resident of Hyderabad, was the second accused arrested today for being a key member of the conspiracy group and for contributing money to the group.

42-year-old Hussaini, who was appointed as the Amir of the group, participated in key conspiracy meetings.

The duo will be produced before the NIA Special Court later in the day. The NIA is seeking police custody of the arrested persons.

The NIA had on June 22 lodged a common FIR against ISIS for 'criminal conspiracy to wage war against the Government of India' by collecting weapons and explosive materials to target public places, religious sites and sensitive government buildings in various parts of the country.

According to the central agency, the gang was preparing IEDs for carrying out blasts and was being guided by an online handler, suspected to be based in Iraq or Syria.

Besides explosive materials, the agency had recovered two semi-automatic pistols, ammunition, an air gun with telescopic sight and shooting practice target boards, a large number of digital gadgets including six laptops, about 40 mobile phones, 32 SIM cards, and a large number of hard disks, memory cards, pen drives and tabs during its searches.