Three arrested in J&K for association with terror group Islamic State

Srinagar: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) Sunday arrested three people over their alleged association with the banned terror organisation Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), an official said.

According to an NIA spokesperson, the agency conducted searches at eight locations in Srinagar and Anantnag in South Kashmir and arrested Tawheed Latief, Suhail Ahmad and Afshan Parvez, all residents of Srinagar.

The agency said they had received information that banned ISIS has hatched a conspiracy to radicalise and recruit impressionable Muslim youths in India to wage violent jihad against the Indian State.

Their plan was to execute their nefarious design which involves supplementing their on-ground terror financing activities with cyber space campaign, the official said.

ISIS terrorists operating from various conflict zones, along with their cadres in India, have created a network by assuming pseudo-online identities wherein their propaganda material is disseminated for radicalising and recruiting members, the spokesperson said.

Earlier this year, the agency had arrested four accused in this connection after registering a case.

Investigation has further revealed that the arrested accused were associated with Pakistan and Afghanistan-based foreign ISIS operatives and certain other associates of the arrested accused based in Kashmir are involved in on-ground and online activities of ISIS, including in content creation and translation of India-centric propaganda magazine Voice of Hind'.

Searches in the case on Sunday led to the recovery and seizure of incriminating documents and digital devices such as mobile phones, tablets, laptops, hard disks etc, the spokesman said.