Karnataka: NIA identifies alleged ISIS operatives during raids

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted raids in several parts of Maharashtra and Karnataka.  These included 1 place in Karnataka, 2 in Pune, 31 in Thane Rural, 9 in Thane city and 1 in Bhayandar. 15 Alleged operatives of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) were arrested from these raids. Pursuing the path of violent Jihad, Khilafat, ISIS etc., the accused had aimed to disturb the peace and communal harmony of the country and to wage a war against the Government of India... The arrested accused had self-declared the village of Padgha in rural Thane as a ‘liberated zone’ and as ‘Al Sham’. They were motivating impressionable Muslim youth to relocate in Padgha from their place of residence for strengthening the Padgha br,” the NIA’s statement mentioned. 

Two air-guns, a pistol, eight swords and knives, Rs 68 lakh in cash and 51 Hamas flags were recovered during the raids. “Huge amounts of unaccounted cash, firearms, sharp edged weapons, incriminating documents, smart phones and other digital devices were seized during the raids, conducted as part of NIA’s ongoing efforts to disrupt and demolish the attempts of ISIS to carry out violent acts of terror and take innocent lives,” the statement added.