IS terror accused held at Delhi airport

Shivamogga-based IS terror accused Arafath Ali was nabbed by National Investigation Agency (NIA) at Delhi airport on his arrival from Nairobi, Kenya, on Thursday.

An NIA press release said Ali was taken into custody when he landed at Delhi airport. It was a major breakthrough for the agency to unearth and foil the conspiracy of foreign-based modules of IS (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) to carry out acts of terror in India. Since 2020, Ali had been absconding and was accused of indulging in IS propaganda and planning terrorist acts. He had since been operating from abroad to promote IS’ anti-India terror agenda.

NIA investigations revealed that Ali, a resident of Shivamogga district, was actively involved in the identification, radicalisation and recruitment of gullible Muslim youth into the IS fold, while working from abroad, the release said.

As part of the Shivamogga terror conspiracy case, accused Mohamed Shariq had been looking for ways to plant a pressure cooker IED at Kadri Manjunatha temple in Mangaluru, when the IED exploded accidentally in an autorickshaw. Ali had been in touch with the other accused in the case and was actively involved in planning and executing the conspiracy.

According to NIA, Ali was also responsible for the Mangaluru graffiti cases of 2020, when on his directions, two other accused Mohamed Shariq and Maaz Muneer Ahmed had written, ‘Don’t force us to invite Lashkar-e-Taiba and Taliban to deal with Sanghis and Manuvadis’ and ‘#Lashkar Zindabad’ on the walls.

SP Mithunkumar stated, “Arafath Ali hails from Thirthahalli taluk of Shivamogga district and left his hometown more than three years ago.” Sources said Ali’s name was linked to the IED pressure cooker blast in Mangaluru, and cases were registered against him with Mangaluru and Bengaluru police.