Major Terror Conspiracy Foiled: NIA Conducts Simultaneous Raids in 5 States and 1 UT

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday raided 21 locations in five states and one union territory of India, busting a major terror conspiracy linked to ISIS and other terrorist organisations.

The NIA conducted extensive search operations at a total of 21 locations in the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. During this, several digital devices, mobile phones and incriminating documents were seized. The case began with the arrest of one Akhlathur alias Mohammed Akhlaq Mujahid, who had allegedly conspired with others to carry out terrorist activities in India. The purpose of this conspiracy was to mobilize people and mobilize material support to wage jihad against India in connivance with banned terrorist organizations.

According to the NIA investigation, the accused was in contact with these terrorist organizations through social media. Apart from this, he was also found to have links with many organizations based in Pakistan and Syria. Earlier on Monday, the NIA had raided 22 places in five states and Jammu and Kashmir. In these, search operations were conducted at nine places in Jammu and Kashmir, where the premises of suspicious persons were searched, who are suspected to be connected to the network active outside India.

These raids were carried out in collaboration with state police forces and the CRPF. The investigation relates to recruitment of youth, raising funds and setting up of sleeper cells to carry out unlawful activities in various parts of the country. The NIA is also probing the April 22 terror attack at Pahalgam's Baisaran ground in which 26 people were killed. According to officials, the three Pakistani terrorists who carried out the attack, who were gunned down under 'Operation Mahadev', were identified based on photographs recovered from mobile phones seized by security forces. The NIA has in recent months intensified its efforts to dismantle terror modules and disrupt their logistics.