4 ISIS suspects held in raids across country, 1 from the city

In one of the biggest crackdown on ISIS module in India, police teams across five states aided by UP Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) arrested four suspected ISIS terrorists.

The joint operation was carried out by the police teams of Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.

The arrests were made during raids in Mumbra (Maharashtra), Jalandhar (Punjab), Narkatiaganj (Bihar), and Bijnor and Muzaffarnagar (both in Uttar Pradesh).

Inspector-General of UP Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), Aseem Arun, said four persons were arrested on charges of hatching terror conspiracies. He said the accused were planning a major terror attack in the country.

He said two persons Mufti Faizan and Tanveer, allegedly connected with the ISIS, were arrested from Bijnor district.

Nazim Shamshad Ahmed (26), who hails from Bijnor, was nabbed from Mumbra township in Thane district.

Another suspect identified as Muzammil was arrested from Jalandhar district.

The accused have been booked under several sections of Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The case is being investigated by the UP ATS.

According to an UP ATS statement in Lucknow, six others were taken into custody and were being questioned in Noida. The accused had got in touch with each other over the internet, police said.

Sources said the UP ATS had seized important documents after the March 7 encounter in Lucknow in which a terrorist belonging to the Khorasan module was killed. Following this, the probe was expanded to five states.

The ATS had received information that the ISIS had been expanding its network in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab and Bihar and some youths from these states had joined the terror organisation.