PATNA: The three suspects arrested in Gaya on Saturday for their alleged allegiance to
terror outfit Islamic State (IS) were set to join its training camp in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), a senior intelligence officer said on Sunday. After getting training, they wanted to form a group to carry out terror attacks in the country.
Mohammad Anwar Hussain (24), Mohammad Shammi (22) and Mohammad Shaad Anwar (22) were nabbed from different locations in Gaya town by a team of National Investigation Agency (NIA). A 9mm country-made pistol was also recovered from their possession. While Anwar was running a marble-cutting shop at Maroofganj under the Civil Lines police station area, the other two were running small bike repair shops in the Kotwali police station area of the town.
They had come under the central intelligence agencies' radar after demonetisation on November 8, 2016, as they had sent money to some suspects in Kashmir. "The three were highly influenced by the IS philosophy and were closely linked through social networking sites," he said.
"The trio had come in contact with a Pakistan-aided terror group operating in Kashmir through a social networking site," he said. "The trio, especially Anwar, was receiving commands from Kashmir over a messenger application of a social networking site and were acting as per directions to send funds and alluring other like-minded youths for the purpose," he said.
Sources said the NIA's search into their smartphones revealed their connections with militants in Jammu & Kashmir and even abroad. "The three were neither part of any sleeper cell nor they had any links with Jamaat-UL-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JBM), which was involved in planting three IEDs in Bodh Gaya recently. Nor they had links with Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorists or 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts accused Tausif Khan. They were acting independently in anti-national activities in Gaya and Kashmir," the Intelligence officer added.
