NIA raids in Bhatkal: Arrests one person over alleged ISIS links

Bhatkal: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrested one person after raiding two locations in Bhatkal, alleging he had links to ISIS leadership. The arrested accused has been identified as Jufri Jawhar Damudi, a resident of Bhatkal. According to the press statement issued by NIA, Jawhar was arrested in connection with a case registered at NIA PS New Delhi on 29 June 2021. “The case pertains to the proscribed terrorist organization ISIS to radicalize and recruit impressionable Muslim youth in India to wage violent Jihad against the Indian state” the press release stated. The NIA has alleged Jawhar as a cyber-entity ‘Abu Hazir Al Badri’ “a key operative of ISIS who is involved in the translation of Voice of Hind to South Indian languages and its further dissemination”. The NIA has further added that Jawhar was in touch with ISIS leadership currently operating out of the Af-Pak region who provided him propaganda material and also gave directions for its dissemination. The NIA claimed that during the searches on Friday, a large number of digital devices such as mobile phones, hard disks, SD cards, etc have been seized. Two others were also questioned during the day-long operation by the NIA. The NIA team is still in Bhatkal and is further carrying their operation.