ISIS operatives were in touch with naxals: NIA

ISIS operatives in India had approached naxal groups to understand their modus operandi for perpetrating terror and were also planning to buy firearms from them, NIA has said, revealing the sinister plans of the international terrorist outfit.
This has been mentioned in the supplementary charge sheet filed by the anti-terror probe agency in a special court here against 16 people, including the absconding main recruiter of ISIS in India Shafi Armar, for allegedly indulging in terror-related activities in the country.
The NIA has slapped Armar and 15 others with charges under various sections of Indian Penal Code, Unlawful (Activities) Prevention Act and Explosive Substances Act. The charge sheet against Armar was filed in a Mumbai court yesterday in a different case related to ISIS.

The NIA had registered a case in December 9, 2015 against ISIS.
Besides Armar, others who have been chargesheeted included Mohammed Nafees Khan, Mudabbir Mushtaq Shaikh, Abu Anas, Najmul Huda and Mohammed Afzal.
"The accused persons contacted naxalites to understand their modus operandi in committing terror acts and they also had plans to buy weapons from the naxalites," NIA said in a release.

The NIA said that the two accused persons had turned approvers and have been granted conditional pardon by the trial court.
According to NIA, searches were conducted in January this year across the country during which 18 accused persons were arrested.

Incriminating materials like explosive powder, GI pipes, analogue clock, soldering rod, match boxes, 900 ml Hydrogen Peroxide and Rs 2,50,000 cash were seized from their possession.
NIA claimed that the accused had formed an organization-- Junood-ul-Khilafa-Fil-Hind -- (a group seeking to establish Caliphate in India with allegiance to the banned ISIS).
The aim of the group was to recruit Muslim youths to work for the ISIS and commit acts of terrorism in India at the behest of Armar, who is based in Syria and is purportedly the media chief of the ISIS.
NIA secured scientific and forensic evidence that Armar had contacted and interacted on web-based social media networks (Facebook, WhatsApp, Trillian, Skype, Surespot, Twitter, Chat Secure, Nimbuzz and Telegram) with other arrested accused for the purpose of recruitment, manufacturing IEDs, identifying places for training and hideouts and, finally, committing terror strikes at various public places and vital installations in India.

For this purpose, the accused persons conducted eight meetings in forests in Tumkur, in Deoband and residences of other co-accused.
"Scientific evidence in respect of the recovered explosive substances and comparison of voice sample collected in the case has been positive, as per the expert's opinion," the NIA said in the release.