NIA carries out searches in ten locations of Tamil Nadu in a terror case

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday morning carried out searches at ten locations in Tamil Nadu in connection with a terror case. The search was carried out in the houses of ten accused persons, at Muthupet, Keelakarai, Devipattinam, Lalpet and Salem in connection with an investigation of case under the Keelakarai police station case. During the search, a number of digital devices including three laptops, three hard discs, 16 mobile phones, eight SIM cards, two pen drives, five memory cards and one card reader besides two knives and a large number of incriminating documents were seized.

The case relates to a group of ten persons from different parts of Tamil Nadu who had formed a WhatsApp group named “SHAHADAT IS OUR GOAL”. In 2018, they conspired to procure arms for their terrorist group, to raise funds to wage armed struggle, to facilitate the escape of terrorists from jail and to propagate their ideology, to act against the state.

The case was initially registered on April 2, 2019, at Keelakarai Police Station of Ramanathapuram District in Tamilnadu. A case was filed under section 153A, 120B of Indian Penal Code (IPC), besides section 25(1) (a) of Arms Act 1959 against ten accused, out of which nine accused were arrested earlier. The one accused is still absconding. However, later all the nine arrested accused were released on bail by a court.