Zahran Hashim linked to three IS cases in India
India’s National Investigation Agency says one of the three cases, where the name of Easter Sunday mastermind Zahran Hashim first emerged, was registered in October 2018, pertaining to a criminal conspiracy to kill several Hindu leaders of Coimbatore.
The Hindu reported Zahran Hashim emerged as a common link in at least three Islamic State related cases.
An NIA official said there could be more members associated with the Coimbatore module, which had links with a similar module in Kerala.
The NIA said no explosives were found during searches at the house and office of Muhammed Azharudheen, the ‘Facebook friend’ of Zahran Hashim, who was arrested on Wednesday in Coimbatore. Five other suspects from the city are still being questioned.
The Hindu quoting an official said Azharudheen, who ran a travel company, had been under surveillance for several months. He was produced before the NIA special court in Kochi yesterday.
The five other suspects, Akram Sindhaa, Shiek Hidayathullah, Abubacker, Sadham Hussain and Ibrahim Shah, were also taken to Kochi.
The National Investigation Agency said the accused were propagating the ideology of the IS and were recruiting vulnerable youth to carry out terrorist attacks in South India. One of the three cases, where the name of Zahran Hashim first emerged, the NIA said, was when they extracted Hashim’s speeches during forensic analysis of the phone of a suspect, Shamsuddin. Shamsuddin had informed the NIA that he and another accused were influenced by Hashim’s videos.
The second case directly involving Hashim was related to a Palakkad resident, Riyaz Abubacker, who was arrested 10 days after the Easter attacks for planning to carry out a suicide attack in Kerala.
An official said Abubacker also followed Hashim’s inflammatory speeches. Coimbatore Police yesterday registered a case against three persons for propagating IS ideologies on social media platforms and allegedly planning to conduct terror attacks in the city.
Mohammed Hussain, A. Shajahan and Sheik Safiullah, who were supporters of Zahran Hashim and praised the Easter Sunday bombings, were booked under various provisions of the India's Unlawful Activities Act.