The Union Home Ministry informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has registered 17 cases related to the presence of Islamic State (IS) in southern States of Telangana, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and arrested 122 accused persons.

Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy said in a written reply that some instances of individuals from different States, including the South, having joined the IS have come to the notice of Central and State security agencies.

BJP Member of Parliament Vinay P. Sahasrabuddhe had asked about the presence of IS terrorists in the southern States of the country, what steps had been taken to apprehend them and the details of States in which these IS terrorists were most active.

BJP MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe at Parliament House during ongoing Monsoon Session, in New Delhi, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020.   | Photo Credit: PTI

Mr. Reddy’s written reply said, “Investigations by the NIA have revealed that the IS is most active in Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.”

He added that Islamic State/ Islamic State of Iraq and Levant/ Islamic State of Iraq and Syria/ Daish/ Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP)/ ISIS Wilayat Khorasan/ Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham-Khorasan (ISIS-K) and all its manifestations have been notified as Terrorist Organisation and included in the First Schedule to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 by the Central government. “IS is using various internet-based social media platforms to propagate its ideology. Cyber space is being closely watched in this regard by the agencies concerned and action is taken as per law,” Mr. Reddy said.

He added that government had information on how the terrorist group received funds, including from abroad.