The handler of four Sri Lankan ISIS terrorists, who were arrested from Ahmedabad Airport last month, has been taken into custody by Sri Lankan Police Intelligence on Friday, May 31. 46-year-old Osman Pushparaja Gerard was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka had launched a high-level investigation with the participation of two main intelligence branches of the police, the CID and the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID), and other military intelligence services to nab the accused.The Lankan CID had also announced a reward of Rs. 2 million for information leading to the arrest of Osman, suspected of being an ISIS coordinator.
Sri Lankan security forces think that the 46-year-old acted as a handler of the four Sri Lankans who were arrested at Ahmedabad airport in Gujarat for suspected links with the banned Islamic State (ISIS) outfit. Following the arrest of the 4 Sri Lankan nationals in India, Sri Lankan authorities launched an investigation and have so far arrested 6 individuals in the case, including Osman.
Earlier, on May 20, the Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) of Gujarat Police arrested the four ISIS terrorists at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad. According to the local police, all the arrested terrorists are residents of Sri Lanka, and are associated with the Islamic State.
The 4 arrested ISIS terrorists are Mohammad Nusrat, Mohammad Nufran, Mohammad Faris, and Mohammad Razdin. Gujarat DGP Vikash Sahay said, “Information was received that 4 people, namely, Mohammad Nusrat, Mohammad Nufran, Mohammad Faris and Mohammad Razdin. These 4 people are Sri Lankan nationals and are active members of the banned terror outfit Islamic State. All four of them are completely radicalised by the ISIS ideology and they are going to come to India to commit a terror attack.”
Initial investigation by ATS has revealed that the Islamic State terrorists traveled from Sri Lanka to Ahmedabad via Chennai. The Gujarat ATS arrested them before they could reach their intended target.
It has also been uncovered during the initial investigation that these terrorists were awaiting orders from their handlers who were expected to deliver them weapons to aid in their intended attack. The ATS has also recovered encrypted chats from the terrorists’ phones.
