News Analysis India

Tag: NIA

  • Sunjwan terror attack: NIA arrests ‘key accused’ JeM overground worker

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a person believed to be a key accused in the Sunjwan terror attack case that happened in April on the outskirts of Jammu, an official spokesperson said on Thursday.

    The accused, Abid Ahmad Mir of Putrigam in south Kashmir’s Pulwama, is alleged to be an overground worker of the banned Jaish-e-Mohammed terror outfit. According to the NIA, Mir was a close associate of accused Bilal Ahmed Wagay, who has been arrested in the case.

    It added that Mir was also in touch with Pakistan-based handlers of the JeM. He had knowingly and voluntarily extended support to the other accused in the commission of the instant crime, the spokesperson said.

    Two terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Jammu on April 22 after they attacked CISF personnel onboard a bus during the crucial early morning shift-change of the force at a checkpost.

    The ‘fidayeen’ or suicide bombers sprayed a volley to bullets in ‘burst fire’ mode from their assualt weapons even as they lobbed grenades at the security personnel at the picket deployed near the Chaddha camp in the Sunjwan area of the district, where the Army also has a large installation.

    The terror attack came two days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Samba in Jammu region of the union territory.

  • NIA charges 11 for supplying arms to terrorists, gangs in Jharkhand

    By IANS

    NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) said they have filed a charge sheet against 11 persons in a case of pilferage of arms and ammunition and supply to terrorist organisations in Jharkhand.

    The charge sheet was filed before the special NIA court under various sections of IPC, Arms Act and UAP Act for their involvement in supply of arms and ammunition to terrorist organisations and gangs.

    “Avinash Kumar alias Chunnu Sharma, Rishi Kumar, Pankaj Kumar Singh, Kamendra Singh, Arun Kumar Singh alias Fauji, Hirla Guman Singh Ucchware, Shivlal Dhawal Singh Chauhan, Kumar Gurlal Uchchware, Kartik Behra, Aman Sahu alias Aman Sao, Sanjay Kumar alias Sanjay Kumar Singh, have been chargesheeted,” said the NIA official.

    The case pertains to pilferage of arms and ammunitions and supply of the same to the armed cadres of CPI(Maoist) and terrorist gang of Aman Sahu by the accused persons who had criminally conspired to use these arms and ammunition in executing terrorist attacks on the security forces and also for the purpose of extortion. The case was originally registered at PS ATS, Ranchi in 2021 and later on the probe was taken over by the NIA.

    The investigation has established that ammunition of various caliber were pilfered from a magazine of the BSF by one accused Kartik Behera and supplied to his close associate Arun Kumar Singh. Further, the same were supplied to the armed cadres of CPI(Maoist) and the terrorist gang of Aman Sahu in association with some of the other chargesheeted accused persons. Four chargesheeted accused in the case were also found involved in the procurement and transfer of illegal firearms. Due to the involvement of accused Kartik Behera in pilferage and supply of ammunition, he was dismissed from the BSF.

    Further investigation in the matter is still on.

  • NIA to open office in MP to investigate terror activities: Minister

    In March this year, the MP police had arrested four alleged members of the banned JMB from Bhopal and seized Jihadi literature and electronic devices from their possession.

  • NIA chief visits encounter site at Jammu’s Sunjwan ahead of PM visit

    By PTI

    JAMMU: NIA chief Kuldeep Singh on Saturday visited Jammu’s Sunjwan area where two suicide bombers of banned Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) were killed in a fierce gunfight with security forces ahead of the prime minister’s visit, officials said.

    The National Investigation Agency (NIA) chief was accompanied by Inspector General of CRPF, Jammu sector, P S Ranpise.

    Singh, who is also the director-general of the Central Reserve Police Force, was briefed about the gun battle by CRPF officers, the officials said.

    ALSO READ: PM to inaugurate projects worth Rs 20,000 crore during J&K visit 

    A team of the NIA had visited the encounter site on Friday evening and the federal agency is likely to take over the case for a thorough investigation, they said.

    Besides the two terrorists, a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officer died in the gunfight that took place near an Army camp in Sunjwan on Friday.

    Nine security personnel were also injured as forces engaged the terrorists after they attacked a bus carrying CISF personnel.

    Director-General of Jammu and Kashmir Police Dilbag Singh had said the two terrorists were part of a suicide squad of Pakistan-based JeM and their infiltration could be a “big conspiracy” to sabotage the prime minister’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir.

    The PM is scheduled to visit Samba district’s Palli village, 17 km from here, on National Panchayati Raj Day on April 24.

    He is also scheduled to address a gathering there.

    According to officials, a multi-tier security setup has been put in place for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit.

    An alert has been sounded along the border and a high degree of vigilance is being maintained at vital installations in Jammu and Kashmir in view of the visit, officials said on Friday. 

  • NIA files chargesheet against three ISIS recruiters

    By PTI

    BENGALURU: The NIA on Saturday filed a supplementary chargesheet before a special court here against three people for their alleged involvement in radicalising and recruiting gullible Muslim youth into the ISIS terrorist group.

    They also raised and received funds to finance the visit of the radicalised youths to Syria, a spokesperson of the National Investigation Agency said.

    Muhammad Tauqir Mahmood and Zohaib Manna of Bengaluru, and Mohammed Shihab of Bhatkal in Karnataka have been charged under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the spokesperson said.

    The case was registered by the NIA in September 2020 after examination of Dr Abdur Rahman in a case of the Islamic State Khorasan Province which led to unravelling of an ISIS module, the official said.

    During this, names of various people responsible for radicalising and funding the visits of Muslim youth from Bengaluru and Karnataka to ISIS areas such as Syria, had emerged, the spokesperson said.

    The NIA had earlier filed a chargesheet against two accused in the case.

    Mahmood and Manna were involved in radicalising and recruiting gullible Muslim youth into the fold of the ISIS through a “Quran Circle” group, according to the spokesperson.

    They were also involved in raising and receiving funds to finance the visit of radicalised Muslim youth to Syria, the NIA official said.

    Mahmood and Shihab had earlier visited Syria illegally to establish connection with ISIS terrorists, the spokesperson said, adding that further investigation in the case continues.

  • NIA conducts searches in Jammu and Kashmir in TRF terror recruitment case

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: The National Investigation Agency conducted searches at nearly a dozen places linked to The Resistance Front (TRF) terror group in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, days after its announced cash rewards of Rs 10 lakh each on information leading to the arrest of its four cadres.

    The searches were carried out at multiple locations in Srinagar, Baramulla, Pulwama, Budgam and Kulgam districts in connection with a case related to radicalising, recruiting and motivating the youth to effect violent activities by TRF commander Sajad Gul and others, a spokesperson of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said.

    The spokesperson said the locations searched included the house of active terrorist Basit Ahmad Dar, against whom the NIA had recently announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh.

    Besides Dar of Redwani Payeen in Kulgam, the reward was declared against Gul of Srinagar and two Pakistani nationals — Saleem Rehmani alias ‘Abu Saad’ of Nawab Shah in Sindh and Saifullah Sajid Jatt of Shangamanga in Kasur.

    The four terrorists are wanted by the NIA in connection with the case registered last year under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

    The NIA said the searches were carried out at six locations in Srinagar, two in Baramulla, one each in Awantipora (Pulwama), Budgam and Kulgam districts.

    The spokesperson said Gul, along with his associate commanders of LeT based in Pakistan, has been recruiting individuals (Over Ground Workers) to do reconnaissance of pre-determined targets, coordinating and transporting weapons to support LeT and TRF.

    During the searches, the spokesperson said, various incriminating materials such as digital devices, SIM cards, digital storage devices and documents were seized.

    The NIA said investigation into the case was underway.

  • NIA conducts searches in Assam, arrests CPI (Maoist) member

    By PTI

    GUWAHATI: The NIA on Sunday conducted searches at 17 locations in Assam and arrested a member of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) for allegedly spreading its network in the northeast region of the country.

    The searches were carried out in places in Cachar, Karimganj, Dibrugarh and Dhubri districts, according to an official spokesperson of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

    Reema Orang of Cachar has been arrested from Dibrugarh, he said.

    The case relates to the arrest of Arun Kumar Bhattacharjee, a member of the CPI (Maoist) central committee, along with his associate Akash Orang, a member of the outlawed outfit’s Assam State Organising Committee, from the Patimara Tea Garden in March, the spokesperson said.

    These accused along with their associates were involved in spreading the network of the CPI (Maoist) in Assam and other parts of the northeast region of the country, he said.

    During searches, digital devices and incriminating documents of the CPI (Maoist) were seized, the NIA spokesperson said, adding that further investigation is being carried out.

  • NIA files charge sheet against arrested Pakistani terrorist

    By PTI

    JAMMU: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday filed a charge sheet in a court here against a Pakistani terrorist affiliated with the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LET) who was arrested during an infiltration attempt in Uri sector in September last year, an official said.

    The charge sheet was filed against Imdadullah, hailing from Pakistan’s Punjab province, under various sections of the IPC, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Explosives Act and the Foreigners Act, a spokesperson of the NIA said.

    Imdadullah who had several code names such as ‘Ali Babar’, ‘Dujana’ and ‘313’ was arrested, while his associate Atiq-ur-Rehman alias “Qari Anas and Abu Anas” was killed by the Army when they made a failed infiltration attempt from across the border in Uri sector of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on September 27 last year.

    The spokesperson said the case was initially registered at police station Uri on September 27 and later re-registered by the NIA on October 30, 2021.

    A huge cache of arms, ammunition, explosives and other incriminating material were recovered from the possession of the slain and arrested Pakistani terrorists, the NIA said, adding further investigation in the case was underway.

  • NIA arrests six people for trafficking Rohingya Muslims into India

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The NIA has arrested six people who were allegedly part of a syndicate involved in the illegal trafficking of Rohingya Muslims into Indian territory, an official said on Saturday.

    The network was operating in the border areas of Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya as well as other parts of the country, the official of the premier investigation agency said.

    The six people were part of a syndicate involved in the illegal trafficking of Rohingya Muslims into the Indian territory, the official said, without divulging further details.

    Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims, described by the UN as the most persecuted minority in the world, fled their homes in 2017 to escape an alleged crackdown by the Myanmarese military.

    Human rights group Amnesty International has blamed Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and the country’s government for “burying their heads in the sand over the horrors unfolding in Rakhine State”.

    In October 2018, the Indian government deported seven Rohingya immigrants, who were staying in Assam illegally, to their country of origin Myanmar, in a first such move.

  • Elgar Parishad case: Accused wanted to create unrest in country, says court citing letter

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: A special court here has denied bail to three persons accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, saying that the material on record suggests that the trio, along with other members of the CPI (Maoist), a banned organisation, hatched a “serious conspiracy” to create unrest in the country and to overthrow the Modi government.

    A letter placed on record prima facie speaks that the CPI (Maoist) was bent upon ending the “Modi­ raj” and that they were also thinking of another incident like the death of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, by targeting the road shows of PM Narendra Modi, the court said.

    The three accused, Sagar Gorkhe, Ramesh Gaichor and Jyoti Jagtap, all members of the Kabir Kala Manch, were denied bail by the special NIA court judge DE Kothalikar on Monday. The detailed order was made available on Thursday.

    “From the letters and documents placed on record, prima facie it can be gathered that the applicants along with other members of the banned organisation hatched a serious conspiracy to create unrest in the entire country and to overpower the government, politically,” the court said.

    The material placed on record prima facie denotes that the accused were not only members of the banned organisation CPI (Maoist), but they were carrying out activities further in the objective of the organisation, which is nothing but to overthrow democracy of the nation, it said.

    Referring to a letter placed on record, the court said, “The contents of the aforesaid letter prima facie speaks that the CPI (Maoist) was bent upon ending the Modi­ raj, that is the Modi-led government. Not only this, they were also thinking to go for another incident, like the death of Rajiv Gandhi, by targeting the road shows of Modi.”

    “If these allegations are taken into consideration in proper perspective in that case, there will be no hesitation to prima facie conclude that there is prima facie case against the applicants that they have done an act with intent to threaten or likely to threaten the unity, integrity, security and sovereignty of India and with intent to strike terror in section of the people in India by other means to likely to cause death of, or injuries to, any person or persons,” the court added.

    The court further said that the material placed on record prima facie establishes that the applicants were actively involved in the organisation of Elgar Parishad conclave in Pune. Jagtap, Gorkhe and Gaichor were arrested in September 2020 and have been in custody since then.

    The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave, held at Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017, which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon Bhima war memorial located on the outskirts of the city.

    Pune police had claimed that the conclave was backed by Maoists. The probe in the case, in which more than a dozen activists and academicians have been named as accused, was later transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).