NIA Books 4 J&K Men, Gujarat Woman in Case Linked to Islamic State–Khorasan Province Module

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has registered a case against five residents of Jammu and Kashmir including a woman in a case linked to the Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISKP) unit, a proscribed terrorist organization, operating from Porbandar city in Gujarat. According to the FIR, the accused have been identified as Obaid Nasir Mir, Hanan Hayat Shawwal, Muhammad Hajim Shah, Samira Banu and Zubair Ahmed. Sumera, based in Gujarat, was allegedly assisting other Srinagar residents facing allegations of running a terrorist unit.

“The Central Government has received information regarding the FIR registration at ATS Police Station, Ahmedabad under Section 120B of IPC and Sections 38539 of UAPA related to the breach of a secretive Islamic State Khorasan Province Unit (ISKP), a proscribed terrorist organisation, operating from Porbandar Gujarat, says FIR.

All the defendants are alleged to be active members of ISKP and were planning, along with their co-conspirator Zubair Ahmed, to go illegally from Porbandar and through Iran to Afghanistan to carry out terrorist acts there. The National Intelligence Agency in Ahmedabad, in its FIR, said that four mobile phones, incriminating literature related to ISKP, and sharp weapons, such as knives, had been recovered from it.

The case document reads: “Since the crime was committed with serious security implications and its national and international implications in mind, it is required that it be investigated by the National Investigation Agency in accordance with the National Investigation Agency Act 2008.”

Earlier, an ATS investigation revealed that the five had been radicalized by their handler, Abu Hamza. ATS gained access to the accused persons’ cloud storage account and found a video of them pledging allegiance to ISKP while firing blunt weapons, an ATS media release said.

According to what was alleged by Abu Hamza, the three men—Ubaid Nasir Mir, Hanan Hayat Chawal, and Muhammad Hajim Shah—arrived in Porbandar to work as fishermen on boats. The agency said that they planned to cross the international maritime border line and reach Afghanistan through Iran and join ISKP, adding that it found mobile phones, tablets and sharp weapons in the defendants’ bags. The statement from ATS Gujarat said their handler had intended to release the pre-recorded videos and photos after their “sacrifices” in Afghanistan.