This is the third case from Tamil Nadu being taken over by NIA in the past three months. All three are from Madurai. The latest case is a follow up of an FIR registered at Theppakulam police station under various IPC sections and UAP Act, against one Abdullah alias Saravankumar who had allegedly posted incendiary messages on Facebook in March this year, instigating people on religious grounds to wage war against India and establish Khilafat, thus threatening the unity, security and sovereignty of India, the FIR said.

The FIR said it has been revealed that the accused is a supporter of Hizb-ul-Tahrir and through his Facebook posts had aimed to instigate others to wage violent jihad to establish Islamic rule in India.

In April, NIA took over a case in which the accused, identified as Mohammad Iqbal alias Senthil Kumar, on his Facebook page had allegedly denigrated a particular community. “The posts were designed to incite communal disharmony among different religious groups, in a manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order,” NIA has claimed. The Facebook page in Tamil, Thoonga Vizigal Rendu is in Kazimar Street loosely translates to two eyes that never slept. Kazimar Street is a place in Madurai where Iqbal resided.

NIA alleged that Iqbal was also advocating the ideology of the Islamic State and Hizb-ul-Tahrir.

In March this year, NIA had initiated a probe into the first Maoist-linked case from Tamil Nadu. That too was based on a Facebook post by Maoist activist Vivek Janardhanan. The NIA took over the case three months after Madurai city police arrested him for the social media post.