According to an official from the Telangana police, the Hyderabad-based individual, whose name has been withheld, is currently residing in Oman on an employment visa.
Hyderabad:The Andhra Pradesh police in its remand report has added the name of a Hyderabad-based man for allegedly financing the purchases of incriminating material by two suspected Islamic State(IS)-linked individuals arrested in a joint operation by the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh police on Sunday.
According to an official from the Telangana police, the Hyderabad-based individual, whose name has been withheld, is currently residing in Oman on an employment visa. The individual reportedly transferred Rs 3,000 via UPI for purchasing bomb precursors through e-commerce platforms. This material was purchased with an intention to carry out a test explosion in a forest area in Vizianagaram, said the official.
The individual had gone to Oman on an employment visa a year and a half ago, while his family resides in the city. “He became a part of a radicalised social media group there, and was intending to cause damage,” the official said, further adding that efforts are underway to nab him.
On Sunday morning, in a joint operation, the AP and Telangana police apprehended two suspected IS-linked individuals – Siraj Ur Rehman from Vizianagaram and Syed Sameer from Bhoiguda in Secunderabad – for allegedly planning an attack in Hyderabad. The two individuals got familiar with each other through Instagram groups.
The handler of these groups has been identified as an individual from Saudi Arabia. “A test explosion at this forest area in Vizianagaram was just a test for them. If they cleared it, they would have been given the chance to do a larger operation. However, we averted the test explosion from happening,” the official said.
While precursors were recovered from Siraj’s house, only digital evidence of incriminating material, such as online conversations planning the test, was found on Sameer's phone. Siraj, the son of a police officer, who was preparing for his Group II exams, had come to Hyderabad and met Sameer, who works as a lift technician in the city.
“The two had formed an organisation under the name Al Hind Ittehadul Muslimeen (AHIM). “However, this is a very basic module, we have seen more dangerous ones too,” the official said.
Efforts are underway to trace out the main handler of this group suspected to be residing in Saudi Arabia. “The procedure of the operation is such that they do not really know who the handler behind is. Their accounts are anonymous. We are still trying to trace them,” the official said.
