NIA charges 17 ISIS men over radicalising youth, making IEDs

The National Investigation Agency on Monday chargesheeted 17 hardcore agents of the proscribed global terrorist organisation Islamic State of Iraq and Syria for being part of a conspiracy involving radicalisation of youth and fabrication of improvised explosive devices, according to an official statement.

The NIA had originally chargesheeted three persons in March 2023 and filed its supplementary chargesheet before the special court at Patiala House in New Delhi on Monday against 17 others, of whom 15 are from Maharashtra and one each from Uttarakhand and Haryana, it said.

This takes the total number of accused chargesheeted in the case, which had exposed global linkages with foreign handlers, to 20, said the statement issued by the federal probe agency.

The accused, chargesheeted under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act and Explosive Substances Act, "were found to have been engaged in a massive ISIS conspiracy involving recruitment, training and propagation of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria ideology among gullible youth, along with fabrication of explosives and improvised explosive devices and fund-raising for the banned outfit", it said.

The NIA, which has been cracking down on various ISIS modules active in the country with the intent to dismantle the nefarious terror network of the international organisation, had registered a case in November 2023 to probe this terror conspiracy.

Its investigation had subsequently led to the seizure of several incriminating documents and data relating to manufacturing of explosives and fabrication of IEDs, along with propaganda magazines like 'Voice of Hind', 'Rumiyah', 'Khilafat', 'Dabiq', published by the Islamic State, the statement said.

The agency had further found during investigations that the accused had been sharing digital files related to IED fabrication with their contacts.

They were also found to be actively raising funds to further their terror plans as part of the ISIS agenda to spread violence in India and destroy its secular ethos and democratic systems, it said.

The accused had carried out several acts preparatory to unleashing terrorist attacks, including recruitment of vulnerable youth into the organisation, the statement said.

"They had taken 'bayath' (pledge of allegiance) from an arrested accused Saquib Nachan, a habitual offender in many previous terror cases and a self-styled Amir-e-Hind for ISIS in India," the NIA said.

The chargesheeted accused are part of Delhi-Padgha (Maharashtra) ISIS terror module case, an official said, adding the NIA is actively pursuing investigations in the case to trace further links of the accused persons.