NIA raids TN locations linked to ISIS group

Chennai/New Delhi : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday carried out searches at six locations in Tamil Nadu in connection with the alleged plot by an ISIS-inspired group to murder leaders of Hindu organisations in the ISIS Coimbatore module case and also for the links of the terror group's suspects with the Easter bombings in Sri Lanka in April this year.

An NIA spokesperson in New Delhi said that the probe agency carried out searches at the houses of the associates of the charge-sheeted accused persons in the ISIS Coimbatore module case registered in September last year.

The agency carried out searches at two locations in Coimbatore city, one location each in Sivaganga, Tiruchirapalli, Nagapattinam and Thoothukudi districts of the state.

He said during searches, two laptops, eight mobile phones, five SIM cards, one SD card and 14 documents have been seized. "Seized articles would be subjected to forensic examination.

And the persons searched were being questioned to verify their association with the charge-sheeted accused persons besides any role in this crime," the spokesperson said.

According to the NIA, the case pertains to the criminal conspiracy hatched by six charge-sheeted accused persons and their associates, with the intention of furthering the objectives of ISIS by targeting certain Hindu activists in Coimbatore.