NIA arrests 9 Al-Qaeda terrorists from West Bengal and Kerala

New Delhi, Sep 19: The National Investigation (NIA) has arrested nine terrorists of the Al-Qaeda from West Bengal and Kerala.

Raids were conducted at several locations in Ernakulam (Kerala) and Murshidabad (West Bengal) following which the terrorists of the Pakistan sponsored module of the Al-Qaeda were arrested.

The NIA had information of an inter-state module of the terror group, whose operatives were active in various locations in India, including Kerala and West Bengal. The NIA said that the group was planning on carrying out attacks in various parts of the country. They had planned on killing people and also targeting vital installations.

NIA has arrested 06 (six) terrorists from West-Bengal and 03 (three) terrorists from Kerala in the early morning raids conducted today. Large quantity of incriminating materials including digital devices, documents, jihadi literature, sharp weapons, country-made firearms, a locally fabricated body armour, articles and literature used for making home-made explosive devices have been seized from their possession.

As per preliminary investigation, these individuals were radicalised by Pakistan-based Al-Qaeda terrorists on social media and were motivated to undertake attacks at multiple places including the National Capital Region.

For this purpose, the module was actively indulging in fund raising and a few members of gang were planning to travel to New Delhi to procure arms and ammunition. These arrests have pre-empted possible terrorist attacks in various parts of the country, the NIA further said.

List of arrested persons:

Murshid Hasan, currently a resident of Ernakulam, Kerala.

Iyakub Biswas, currently a resident of Ernakulam, Kerala.

Mosaraf Hossen, currently a resident of Ernakulam, Kerala.

Najmus Sakib, a resident of Murshidabad, West Bengal.

Abu Sufiyan, a resident of Murshidabad, West Bengal .

Mainul Mondal, a resident of Murshidabad West Bengal.

Leu Yean Ahmed, a resident of Murshidabad, West Bengal .

​ Al Mamun Kamal, a resident of Murshidabad, West Bengal.

Atitur Rehman, a resident of Murshidabad, West Bengal.