Pune: NIA arrests eleventh accused in ISIS sleeper module case

New Delhi: National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrested another alleged key conspirator in the ISIS Pune sleeper module case. The accused, who identifies as Rizwan Ali alias Abu Salma alias Mola, is the 11th person to be arrested in the case and carried a reward of Rs 3 lakh for information leading to his capture. He was produced before the Special NIA Court and was remanded to NIA custody till July 18.

Special NIA court had earlier issued a standing non-bailable warrant (NBW) against Rizwan. The agency believes he is directly involved in promoting the terror activities of the designated foreign terror outfit, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Apart from Rizwan, NIA so far has arrested Muhammed Imran Khan, Muhammed Yunus Saki, Abdul Kadir Pathan, Simab Nazirrudin Qazi, Zulfikar Ali Baridawala, Shamil Nachan, Akif Nachan, Sahahnawaz Alam, Abdullah Faiyaz Sheikh and Talha Khan. The NIA has charged the accused under several sections of UA(P) Act, Explosive Substances Act, Arms Act and IPC acts.

The NIA officials said that it is carrying out its investigation to put an end to the ISIS/IS conspiracy for establishing Islamic rule in the country by spreading violence and terror across the subcontinent.

As part of the anti-India conspiracy of the ISIS, which is also known by various other names, Rizwan had played a significant role in the surveying and scanning of several locations to use it as terrorist hideouts, NIA said. He was also involved in conducting shooting classes and training in the fabrication of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), according to the NIA probe. 

Along with the 10 other accused already arrested and in judicial custody, Rizwan had conspired to commit a series of terror acts to destabilise the country and spread communal hostilities across the nation.