NIA arrests Karnataka IS terror accused at Delhi airport on arrival from Nairobi

NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday nabbed a key absconding Islamic State (IS) terror conspirator on arrival at New Delhi Airport from Nairobi, Kenya.

Arafath Ali was taken into custody the moment he landed at the Airport, marking a major breakthrough for the NIA in its efforts to uncover and foil the conspiracy of foreign-based modules of IS to carry out acts of terror and violence in India. Hailing from Shivamogga district in Karnataka, he is an accused in the Shivamogga IS case and was allegedly involved in identification, radicalisation and recruitment of gullible Muslim youth into the IS fold while being based abroad.

Arafath had been absconding since 2020, when he was accused of indulging in ISIS propaganda activities and planning for terrorist acts. He has since been carrying out the anti-India agenda of the IS from foreign shores.

Arafath was in active touch with the accused persons in the Shivamogga terror conspiracy case, besides being actively involved in planning and execution of the conspiracy. The case was registered after an IED accidentally exploded in an auto rickshaw in Mangalore, while accused Mohamed Shariq was travelling in it to the Kadri Manjunatha temple to allegedly plant a pressure cooker IED.

According to NIA investigations, Arafath was also responsible for the two Mangaluru graffiti cases of 2020, when, on his directions, two other accused, identified as Mohamed Shariq and Maaz Muneer Ahmed, had scribbled the walls with the message “Don’t force us to invite Lashker e Taiba and Taliban to deal with Sanghis and Manvedis #LashkerZindabad”.