NIA questions PAU student in Ludhiana in ISIS Jharkhand module case

In a statement, the NIA said that in the wake of Thursday’s crackdown, they arrested one person, identified as Rahul Sen alias Omar Bahadur, 23, for his alleged role in the conspiracy to spread terror in the region. The raids were conducted on the premises of suspects at nine locations across six states, including Ludhiana. Omar was arrested from Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh for “his active role in the terror conspiracy, including dissemination of ISIS propaganda through social media platforms for radicalisation and recruitment of gullible youth for carrying out various terror related activities,” the agency said.

The case relates to a module of the Islamic State or ISIS that was exposed with the arrest of Faizan, an Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) student in July this year. Faizan had come in contact with radicalised individuals connected to ISIS during his stay near the AMU campus.

NIA investigations had revealed that Faizan, aged about 19, had hatched the Jharkhand terror module conspiracy, along with his associates and unknown others, through social media platforms, with the intention to aid and abet terror activities by providing active support to the proscribed terrorist organisation ISIS and disseminating the outfit’s propaganda. The conspiracy was aimed at unleashing violent terror attacks in India on behalf of ISIS and recruiting youngsters to work for the banned outfit.

Faizan, a BA (Hons) Economics student at AMU, stayed at a lodge near the university campus when he got acquainted with some radicalised individuals who were in contact with ISIS operatives. They formed a closed group and tried to influence others to join ISIS.

Faizan had also allegedly propagated ideological videos of the ISIS in order to influence and recruit vulnerable youngsters to carry out violent attacks in India. He was in the process of radicalising neo-converts and bringing them into the terrorist fold to expand the ISIS cadre and footprint in India, the agency said. Further, he was in contact with foreign-based ISIS handlers, who were guiding him in spreading the ideology. He had also contemplated doing ‘hijrat’ (migration) to a foreign ISIS conflict theatre after completing his task in India, officers said.