Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Wednesday arrested a 32-year-old engineer from Nashik city on the charges of supporting and funding the dreaded terrorist organisation ISIS. The anti-terrorism sqaud also unearted alleged international links through which the engineer was sending the money to the proscribed outfit.
According to the official, the engineer runs an import-export business in Nashik city, around 200km from Mumbai, and investigations have revealed he had transferred funds to the global terrorist group, also called Islamic State, three times. Some associates of the accused are being probed across multiple states, he said without providing further details.
The Maharashtra ATS said that the arrested accused was in continuous touch with the ISIS, showed signs of radicalisation in recent years and provided funds to the foreign terror outfit.The ATS said that during the raids, it recovered electronic devices like mobile phones, laptops, pen-drives and some incriminating documents from the premises of the accused.
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ATS Maharashtra has registered a case under sections 39(1)(a), 40(1)(b)(c) of the UAPA, 1967 against an individual. In the investigation it has been revealed that the accused, a resident of Nashik city, has been continuously communicating with a foreign entity associated with… pic.twitter.com/YzdpXgqMwn
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They added that several of his associates were also under the radar and were being probed in other states across the country. The accused was produced before a Special Court which has remanded him to police custody till January 31, and further investigations are underway, said the ATS.
Earlier, an AMU student was arrested by the UP ATS for alleged connections with ISIS. The student, whose name surfaced in an old investigation, was nabbed on the charges of alleged involvement in radicalising youth through spreading ISIS ideology to establish the rule of Islam in the country, said senior police officials.
He added that Bakhtyar's name surfaced after the arrest of Abdullah Arslan, Maaz bin Tariq and Wajihudeen last year, all linked to the same self-radicalised group. The Director General added that the accused was pursuing a Master of Social Work from the AMU.According to the ATS spokesman, they had received intelligence input that some people were carrying out anti-national activities by taking oath of allegiance to ISIS.
(With Inputs From Agencies)