Terror crackdown: Politicians, not crowded places were targets, says NIA

Mumbai: In another breakthrough ahead of Republic Day, the 14 men arrested on the suspicion of being part of an 'online radicalisation module' disclosed to their interrogators that they were asked to focus on "politicians, foreigners, vital installations and government machinery" instead of carrying out explosion in crowded places.

According to reports, experts believe that it is a new trend to target politicians and foreigners.

In another development, 12 of the 14 terror suspects who were arrested from different parts of the country have been sent to police custody till February 5 by the NIA Court.

Read: NIA picks up 14 across country in ISIS crackdown

The NIA and central security agencies earlier arrested 14 people who were allegedly planning to carry out attacks ahead of Republic Day.

Those arrested today included Rizwan Ali, self-styled Naib-Ameer (deputy chief) of 'Janood-ul-Khalifa-e-Hind' (Army of Caliph in India), a terror group created with ideologies similar to that of ISIS.

The multi-city raids, which took place in six states, continued till the wee hours when Imran Mozzam Khan Pathan of Aurangabad in Maharashtra was arrested.

Rizwan, who is a resident of Khushi Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, was picked up from Hyderabad and brought to Mumbai enroute to Delhi for interrogation.

The NIA had registered a case in 2015 on the directions of the Centre after "credible information" was received that the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) also known as ISIS or Dawlah-al Islamiyah fil-Iraq wa-sh Sham, an international terrorist organisation, has been engaged in radicalisation of Indian youths and motivating them to join the terrorist organisation.

Read: NIA gets transit remand of six arrested from Karnataka

Due to this, "some Indian nationals have already joined it or are in the process of joining it for committing terrorist acts in the conflict zone of Iraq, Syria and Libya. The ISIL is also contemplating to expand its activities to other parts of the world including India," the NIA FIR said.

The arrests were made in connection with the ongoing investigation in this case following simultaneous searches and raids conducted at 12 locations in six cities--Bangalore, Tumkur, Mangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Lucknow yesterday with the support of local police forces.