Absconding leader of ISIS Thrissur module nabbed from Tamil Nadu: NIA

PTI, Sep 6, 2023, 5:20 PM IST

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday arrested the absconding chief of the ISIS Thrissur module from Tamil Nadu and foiled his plans to flee the country, an official said.

Siyed Nabeel, the chief of the Thrissur-based module of the banned global terror group, was apprehended from Chennai by the NIA’s fugitive tracking team, which had been working on the ground for the past few weeks to nab him, a spokesperson of the federal agency said.

The official said the accused had planned to escape from the country by using forged and fraudulent documents with Nepal as a transit point.

He had been on the run and had been hiding at various places in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu for the past several weeks after his module was busted, the spokesperson said.

The official said incriminating documents and digital devices have been seized from the possession of Nabeel, who is the third accused to be arrested in the case since July.

In July, the NIA had tracked and arrested Ashif alias “Mathilakath Kodayil Ashraf” from his hideout near Sathyamangalam in Tamil Nadu.

The NIA, which had registered the case on July 11 based on credible information under various sections of Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, found that the Thrissur-based ISIS module had been conspiring to commit terror acts in Kerala, the spokesperson said.

The official said it had been conducting recces for this purpose and had also been raising funds for furthering ISIS activities by committing a series of illegal activities, including dacoities in the state.

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is a transnational terrorist group that is also known as Islamic State (IS) and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant as well as by its Arabic acronym Da’ish or Daesh.

The organisation has intensified its activities in India by positioning modules in various states and active recruitment of motivated youths who subscribe to its jihadist philosophy, the spokesperson said.

The official said the NIA has busted several of these modules and has arrested several ISIS members and cadres operating across states to thwart the proscribed organisation’s terror agenda.