Mufti Mohammad Suhail alias Hazrath the mastermind of Islamic State (ISIS) terror module, which was busted by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) in a joint operation with UP Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Wednesday, was reportedly in touch with a woman and her son in Lucknow. Suhail had visited Lucknow four months ago to arrange funds for the terror module as revealed by an Uttar Pradesh ATS official. This has exposed a sordid tale of how the Islamic state is using Social Media to radicalise and organise logistics.
Suhail who was arrested for forming the terror module called “Harkat-ul-Harb-e-Islam” is reported to have admitted before the NIA that he tried to radicalise the 17-year-old son of a Lucknow based women unsuccessfully. He said that the woman even sold her gold worth over Rs 2 lakh to help him raise funds for the module. The woman reportedly came in touch with Suhail over social media.
The officer also said that the woman and her son was interrogated by the NIA on Wednesday and Thursday for several hours but were released later due to lack of any substantial evidence against them. She is also suspected to have arranged the stay of Suhail in Lucknow during his visits.
Investigations revealed that Suhail’s online handler was a Pakistani identified as Abu Malik Peshawari who was in touch with Suhail for past several months. Suhail who used the online identity of Abu Bakr Khurasani admitted before the investigating agencies that he was inclined towards violent jihad for past nine years and had even bought country-made pistols.
“It’s not like Suhail was attracted towards a particular terror outfit like Islamic State from the beginning. It’s just that this online IS handler, who was now giving him directions to carry out blasts in Delhi and other places, convinced him to join the outfit,” an NIA official said.
Several arrests have been made so far by the NIA in relation to the terror module case. the NIA and the UP ATS had also conducted raids across 17 locations in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Explosives including rocket launcher were seized in large amounts by the agencies.
