The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday conducted searches at 22 locations across five states and Jammu and Kashmir in connection with the agency’s probe into a terror conspiracy case, officials said.
Sources said the coordinated operation began early morning and covered Bihar (8 locations), Karnataka (1), Maharashtra (1), Tamil Nadu (1), Uttar Pradesh (2), and Jammu and Kashmir (9).
The case under investigation pertains to a terror conspiracy, the recruitment of youths, the raising of funds and the establishment of sleeper cells for carrying out unlawful activities in different parts of the country.
“The case is related to the planning and conspiracy to carry out violent terrorist acts in Jammu and Kashmir and other major cities, including New Delhi. It was planned by cadres of the banned terrorist organisations Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen,” said an official.
The suspects, the official said, were engaged in radicalising individuals associated with the JeM, and had also disseminated terrorist-related propaganda and radicalised and recruited youths into the Jamaat outfit inspired by the JeM. These suspects were involved in motivating youths into committing violent terror attacks across India, the probe has revealed.
During the searches, officials examined several residential premises and business establishments suspected to be linked to individuals associated with radical groups. Investigators are believed to have seized gadgets, digital records, incriminating documents and communication devices, which will now undergo forensic and
technical analysis.