In the wee hours of Saturday (July 30), a 22-year-old engineering student was detained by officials of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) over his connections to the dreaded Islamic terror outfit ISIS.
As per reports, the accused was identified as Meer Anas Ali. He was nabbed from his residence in Ambur in the Tirupattur district of Tamil Nadu. His house was searched and electronic gadgets, phones and a laptop were seized by the IB officials.
The operation was conducted at around 4 am by a joint team of domestic internal security and counter-intelligence agency of the Intelligence Bureau. Ali was quizzed over his social media activity at Vellore’s Anaicut police station, which is located at a distance of about 65 km from his residence.
Reportedly, the accused stays with his mother and is a third-year engineering student at a private college in Ranipet. He came under the radar of the Intelligence Bureau after sharing pictures and posts that were posted by proscribed Islamic outfits on their website and social media profiles.
Ali was interrogated for several hours to determine his role in supporting such organisations. It has come to light that the accused was using his mobile phone and social media apps such as Instagram and Telegram to communicate with ISIS.
Reportedly, he was conspiring to kill an unnamed public figure, carry out terror attacks and instill fear among non-Muslims. On the basis of the preliminary investigation, a First Information Report (FIR) was filed against Ali.
The accused was booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 121 (waging war against Govt of India), 122 (collecting arms), 125 (waging war against any Asiatic power) and relevant provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Meer Anas Ali was held in Vellore Central Prison and remanded in judicial custody.