127 held in connection with ISIS; those arrested say Zakir Naik inspired them: NIA

New Delhi: Most of the 127 persons arrested in connection with cases linked to terror organisation ISIS from across 14 states in the country were inspired by controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, according to Inspector-General (IG) of National Investigation Agency, Alok Mittal.

Addressing a conference of anti-terror agencies here on Monday, Mittal said that 127 people arrested in ISIS-related cases over the years including 33 from Tamil Nadu, 19 from Uttar Pradesh, 17 from Kerala and 14 from Telangana.

Some of the accused arrested in cases related to ISIS have accepted that they were radicalised by the mastermind behind the Easter Day bombings in Sri Lanka and by the preacher Zakir Naik.

"In three of these ISIS cases from Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the accused have admitted that they were radicalized by Zahran Hashim's videos. Hashim, as we know, is the mastermind of the Easter day bombings in Sri Lanka," Mittal said.

"Accused in the majority of these ISIS cases have also admitted that they were radicalized through videos of Zakir Naik and other Islamic preachers, so a case was registered against Naik and his organization Islamic Research Foundation (IRF)," Mittal added.

The inaugural session of the two-day national conference of chiefs of Anti-Terrorism Squad and Special Task Force (STF) that began here today was attended by National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and Minister of State (MoS) Home Affairs, G Kishan Reddy.

Former IB Special Director and present Nagaland Governor RN Ravi and NIA, DG, YC Modi were also present at the meeting.

During the conference, one session was dedicated to Jihadi terrorism and the efforts being made to counter the menace.