An attempt by some of the terrorists to set up a unit of  the ISIS in Tamil Nadu has been revealed by the arrest of a group of  youth by the National Investigating Agency (NIA). Five extremists were taken into custody by the NIA from various places of the State, including Ramanathapuram, Theni , Coimbatore, Tirunelveli and Chennai in a dawn to dusk crack down.

The five persons who were taken into custocy by the NIA is  in  continuation of the arrest of 11 youth who were deported  from a West Asian country. According to sources in the NIA, the sleuths have come across the intention of these youth to launch the IS unit in Tamil Nadu.

“They were on a mission to collect money and logistics for the purpose. We have found that all of them have been indoctrinated by anti-India forces,” said a official of the NIA. The materials seized from those whjo were taken into custody include electronic gadgets including laptops, mobile phones, hard disks, nearly 20 SIM cards and Islamic literature.

The arrested persons had conspired to raise funds to procure arms to eliminate Hindu leaders. The NIA had taken into custody ten persons in April 2018 and the information collected  from them proved to be crucial. “Tamil Nadu  has become a hotbed of Islamic terrorism . We have sufficient evidence to prove that the Thowheed Jamaat in Sri Lanka (the group responsible for the Easter Congregation blasts that led to the death of more than 250 Christians) and Tamil Nadu are working in tandem,” said an intelligence official.

But M Thamimum Ansari, leader of the Manithaneya Jananayaga Katchi, an Islamic outfit who is also a member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly has lambasted the NIA and Police for harassing Muslim youth in the State. “The NIA is picking up innocent  Muslim youth. They are targeting  one community. The continued targeting of the Muslims would lead to many  issues,” warned Ansari.