NIA files charge sheet against Kerala man in ISIS case

New Delhi, June 15 The National Investigation Agency (NIA) said on Tuesday that it has filed a charge sheet against Syed Ali, an ISIS terrorist, for supplying SIM cards for terror activities.

An NIA spokesperson said that the agency filed the charge sheet against Ali, a resident of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, on Monday before a Special NIA Court in Chennai under several sections of the IPC, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Explosive Substances Act.

The case was registered on December 28, 2019 in Chennai relating to the arrest of a few persons who had conspired at Salem and Chennai and fraudulently activated Airtel and Vodafone SIM cards by using multiple identity documents of various persons without their knowledge or consent.

Upon investigation, it was found that the accused had used the SIM cards for terrorist activities. The NIA had re-registered the case on January 21 last year.

The official said that investigation has revealed that these SIM cards were supplied to ISIS terrorists Liyakath Ali and Khaja Moideen.

The official said that Moideen, along with his co-conspirators, had used these SIM cards to "organise conspiracy meetings, recruit persons, collect prohibited arms and ammunition, procure jungle camping equipment, raise funds and harbour associates".

"They were also making and testing IEDs, using dark web for secret communications with foreign-based handlers, as part of the preparations to wage jihad, after establishing a Wilayah (province) of ISIS/Daesh in the forests of South India," the official said.

The NIA had earlier filed a chargesheet against 12 accused persons under various sections of IPC and UAPA.

The official said that during further probe, it was revealed that Ali was highly tech-savvy.

"Ali had assisted Moideen in using the dark web, encrypted communication to communicate with a foreign-based handler and had also participated in conspiracy meetings and arranged safe hide-outs. In order to further this conspiracy, he had also procured explosive materials and gadgets to experiment with IEDs," the official added.