Two suspected IS operatives sent to jail, NIA to seek their custody

LUCKNOW: The two suspected Islamic State (IS) operatives, arrested from Kanpur by National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday, were sent to jail. A city court remanded them in 30-day judicial custody on Wednesday.

The NIA is likely to apply for their police custody to question them about their links with the self-radicalised IS module busted in March. The NIA officials claimed that one of the two suspects Asif Iqbal is the cousin of Saifullah, who was gunned down in encounter with security agencies in Kanpur on March 7. The officials also claimed he was involved in the plan to plant a bomb during PM Modi’s visit to the Aishbagh Ram Lila ground on Dusshera last year.

The second suspect Mohammed Atif was allegedly involved in supplying firearms to the group, the officials said. He was quizzed by the NIA in March but released after no substantial evidence was found against him at the time. A source said the central agency produced them in the court of the district magistrate, Lucknow. They were sent to the Lucknow district jail.

He said the NIA team had been keeping vigil on four youths of Kanpur after taking over the investigation in March this year. He said Mohammed Atif’s role was under suspicion since the beginning but the agency initially had no substantial evidence to arrest him. The source said Atif’s role was confirmed in firearms apply when it crosschecked with Asif Iqbal.