Hyderabad: The recent searches and seizures by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), in which three persons living in Hyderabad were picked up for questioning, was a result of the analysis of electronic material and the confession of Islamic State (IS) sympathisers Abdul Basith and Abdul Qhadeer, who were arrested by the agency in August 2018 in Hyderabad.
The evidence seized during raids in Hyderabad in Telangana and Wardha in Maharashtra, on Saturday, has been sent for analysis to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL).
The teams seized 13 mobile phones, six pen drives, one hard disk, one iPad, one laptop and six memory cards and 11 SIM cards, three walkie-talkies and documents from Masood Tahan, Zeeshan, and Shibli Bilal in Hyderabad, and from Momina in Wardha. Momina is believed to be the second wife of an arrested IS sympathiser in Maharashtra. She had left Hyderabad on Friday and reached Wardha, where she was picked up by the agency on Saturday in connection with the Abu Dhabi module case registered in 2016.
“The information extracted by the CFSL will be analysed as part of the investigation and will help the premier agency to find the links between the alleged sympathisers and their communication data with the handlers,” said sources close to the NIA.
Following the arrests of Basith and Qhadeer by the NIA in August 2018, they were questioned to discover the role of others involved in the conspiracy allegedly hatched by a group of Indian nationals, who acted on the behest of a Pakistan and USA national, Matin Azizi Yarand, and Huzaifa, believed to be a Pakistani national and migrant to Afghanistan, where the role of Zeeshan was unearthed.
“Zeeshan, an auto driver from Shaheennagar in Hyderabad, who was questioned by the NIA on Saturday, has attended meetings held by Basith. The meeting was held at Jathar Mandi in Bandlaguda area on February 2, 2018, and attended by Qhadeer, Maaz Hassan, Hassan Ansari, Abdul Wahlan and Zeeshan. They discussed getting rid of the existing political system in India and wanted to find a way to establish a way of life believed in by sympathisers of the Islamic State terrorist organisation,” said the sources.
Sources also said, “The role of two other persons, Masood Tahan and Shibli Bilal, who are said to be working as software engineers in Hyderabad, was found after the analysis of the conversations of Basith and Qhadeer, and also the other accused who were held in Abu Dhabi module case registered in 2016 by NIA at New Delhi.”
Police officials said that the NIA has kept its radar on the city after it found doubtful conversations with IS sympathisers and are suspected to be conspiring something big. Their questioning by the NIA may continue on Monday.
