New Delhi, 12th January 2023: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday filed a chargesheet against four members of an ISIS module based in Thrissur, Kerala, involved in raising funds to promote the agenda of the banned global terror network.

The charge-sheeted accused have been identified as Mathilakath Kodayil Ashif @ Ashif M K, Seyid Nabeel Ahammed @ Nabeel, Shiyas T.S @Shiyas, and Saheer E P @ Saheer Turkey. They have been charged under various sections of IPC and UA(P) Act.

As per NIA investigations, Ashif and Nabeel were members of the erstwhile NDF outfit as well as the banned PFI, and had committed murders for the PFI, besides participating in its violent agitations. The duo was initially instigated into violent extremist and Jihadi ideologies through the PFI, followed by activities of the India Fraternity Forum while in Qatar. In Qatar, the two had joined ISIS through other Indian nationals who had migrated earlier and joined ISIS in their controlled territories.

Investigations further established that, in order to raise funds for their eventual migration to ISIS controlled territories, the accused persons had conspired and established an ISIS Module in India with the aim of radicalising and recruiting impressionable youth. The module also sought to raise funds for promoting the ISIS agenda through crimes, including robberies, based on distorted interpretation of the ‘Ganimah’, as envisaged in religious texts.

Ashif and Nabeel recruited Shiyas to the ISIS Module and took the oath of allegiance in favour of ISIS Chief. The module was involved in identifying and attempting to recruit impressionable youth to their ISIS module by propagating pro-ISIS literature, videos and other propaganda material, both in person and online.

NIA had arrested Mathilakath Kodayil Ashif @ Ashif M K, Seyid Nabeel Ahammed @Nabeel and Shiyas T S @ Shiyas on various dates since registering the case on 11th July 2023 under various sections of UA(P) Act and the IPC.

Subsequently, based on its investigations, the NIA made its fourth arrest in the case on 9th January 2024. Saheer E P @ Saheer Turkey, a resident of Palakkad, Kerala, was arrested by the NIA, which found that he had knowingly and willingly harboured Seyid Nabeel Ahammed, the prime accused Amir of this ISIS module, since 22nd July 2023. He had supported Seyid despite it being widely publicized through newspapers and media that Seyid Nabeel was involved in terrorist activities.

Saheer had willfully arranged a hideout in Palakkad for the key accused and also facilitated finance and logistics for him.