Indian IS men got bomb lessons on chat apps: NIA

NEW DELHI: Five suspected operatives of an Indian module of the so-called Islamic State (IS) had planned a terror attack on the ardh kumbh mela in Haridwar earlier this year, the NIA has noted in a chargesheet against six suspects submitted in a special court on Monday . According to the investigative agency, a Syria-based handler had taught the five how to make IEDs with explosive material extracted from matchsticks.

The suspects had also plotted attacks at strategic locations in Delhi, the NIA has said. The recovery of 65g of match powder helped the NIA establish the link between the operatives and their handler. According to the agency , a huge amount of jihadi literature and several videos of hate speeches by Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar, among other controversial clerics, were also recovered from the operatives.

The six suspects, identified as Akhlakur Rehman, Mohd Azeemushan, Mohd Meraj, Mohd Osama, Mohsin Ibrahim Sayyed and Yusuf al-Hindi, have been charged under Section 120 (conspiracy) of IPC and sections 18 and 20 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). District judge Amar Nath has fixed August 25 as the date to consider the chargesheet.

NIA said Azeemushan and Osama had carried out a recce of Har ki Pauri in Haridwar on January 18 on the instructions of alHindi aka Shafi Armar,the Syria-based handler and chief recruiter of the pan-Indian IS module busted earlier this year. The remaining five are in Tihar jail.

The NIA claims the accused were learning bomb-making techniques from Syriabased IS operatives through social networking platforms, including Trillian, WhatsApp and Facebook. “Their indoctrination was possible because of the use of various social media communications platform,“ the agecy has said in the chargesheet, and detailed the use of several messaging apps by the accused.

The NIA said it had also recovered mobile phones, electronic gadgets and audio files with “takrirs“ (lectures) by Azhar and other wanted militants. Al-Hindi had also sent Rs 5.86 lakh to the Indian module's `emir' through hawala, Rs 3 lakh of which was to be used for the Haridwar attack.