With another ISIS module busted, TN has become a paradise of Islamic Jihadists

While Kerala has always been in the news, it now appears that the situation is worse in Tamil Nadu which has now become a playground for the Islamic State.

New Delhi, Nov 12: While the National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted raids across Tamil Nadu in connection with the Coimbatore blast case, the Tamil Nadu police have busted an Islamic State module and interrogated 18 suspects.

Raids by the police were conducted in MKP Nagar, Mannadi, Otteri and Pulianthope. The police also seized incriminating documents from the homes of the suspects.

Officials, OneIndia spoke with, say that Tamil Nadu in South India has become a state of concern as far as Islamic radicalisation is concerned. While Kerala has always been in the news, it now appears that the situation is worse in Tamil Nadu which has now become a playground for the Islamic State.

Highest recruits:

Data available shows that there are 127 known recruits of the Islamic State from India who have joined the outfit. Out of this, 33 are from Tamil Nadu which incidentally is the highest. The roll out of Indian recruits into the Islamic State began in 2014 with Haja Fakkrudin joining the outfit.

The blast at Coimbatore has further confirmed how deeply rooted Islamic radicalisation and the spread of the Islamic State is in the state. Jameesha Mubin, the suicide bomber, was radicalised by Zahran Hashim, the Sri Lanka bomber. Mubin, according to the investigations, had taken oath in the name of the Islamic State before embarking upon his mission.

The problem none spoke about:

There have been allegations galore that successive governments in Tamil Nadu had turned a blind eye to the problem. The writing was on the wall since long and outfits such as the Students Islamic State made Tamil Nadu and Kerala their base.

In April 2014, the agencies had busted a Pakistan terror module that was being run by its High Commission in Colombo. Following the arrest of Sri Lankan national Zaheer Hussain, the agencies learnt that he was carrying out a survey of various sensitive targets in South India which could be attacked.

In September 2018, a top Islamic State operative Ansar Meeran, who had mobilised funds and facilitated the travel of radicals from Tamil Nadu to Syria, had tried to break out of the Cuddalore jail. He had made the escape bid and was planning on carrying out a major strike, the NIA had told the Tamil Nadu police.
Different groups, similar ideology:

The Islamic State operates as the Ansarullah in Tamil Nadu while the Al-Qaeda is known as the Base Movement. Another group, the Al-Ummah was primarily responsible for sowing the seeds of radicalisation in the state.

The Al-Ummah was responsible for the blast in Coimbatore which was meant to target BJP leader, L K Advani. The same group was also behind the 2013 blast outside the BJP office in Bengaluru.

In May, another group called the Manitha Neeti Pasarai came under the scanner of the NIA. This is another group that owes allegiance to the Islamic State and the same came to light following the arrest of one Sathik Batcha.

Radicalisation galore:

During the recent raids, the agencies have stumbled upon 100s of videos pertaining to radicalisation. The visit by Hashim to Tamil Nadu propelled the problem into a much larger one. So strong was his convincing power that several modules related to the Islamic State cropped up in the state.

While the Coimbatore module was focused on suicide bombings, another Hashim-inspired module had planned on only targeting Hindu leaders. During his stay in India, he met with several Muslim groups with the sole intention of radicalising the youth. During his stay, he focused extensively on Coimbatore, Trichy, Thirunalvely, Vellore, Nagapattinam, Kanyakumari and Ramnathpuram in Tamil Nadu.

The NIA learnt that it was Hashim and his videos that made the problem of Islamic radicalisation much bigger than what it already was in Tamil Nadu. During the raids, the NIA has recovered scores of videos in which Hashim speaks about the need to carry out violent Jihad, target Hindus and attack temples.