NIA arrests Bengaluru doctor for alleged ISIS links

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday (August 17) arrested a 28-year-old opthalmologist from Bengaluru for his alleged links with the ISIS terror outfit. Abdur Rahman, a doctor at MS Ramaiah Medical College in the city, was arrested in connection with a case relating to the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP).

Reports suggest, quoting the central agency, Rahman has allegedly confessed that he was developing applications for the ISIS operatives in conflict zones and the outfit’s fighters. His arrest is connected to a case registered by the Delhi Police Special Cell in March this year.

The special cell cops had arrested a Kashmiri couple – Jahanzaib Sami Wani and Hina Bashir Beigh – in March this year from Okhla Vihar, Jamia Nagar, in connection with the case. They were allegedly affiliated with the ISKP. The two were also found to be in touch with another accused, Abdullah Basith, currently lodged in Tihar jail.

Meanwhile, Rahman was reportedly interrogated at an undisclosed location during which he revealed he had visited an ISIS medical camp in 2014. There, he stayed with Islamic State operatives for 10 days and returned to India, according to an NIA statement.

After arresting Rahman, the central agency conducted search operations at three premises belonging to him and seized digital devices, mobile phones, and a laptop that allegedly had incriminating material. He will be produced before the NIA Special Court in New Delhi and his remand will be sought for custodial interrogation, the agency said.