A Mumbai court on Friday remanded a man held in Pune ISIS arms and explosives seizure case in National Investigation Agency (NIA) custody till July 18.
PTI reported that NIA claimed that Rizwan Ali was a suspected member of terror outfit Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and was part of a larger conspiracy to promote its terror activities.
Rizwan Ali was brought from a Lucknow jail on Friday and produced before a special NIA court, after which he was formally placed under arrest by the central agency in the ISIS module case.
Ali was in judicial custody in UP in an Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) being probed by the Anti Terrorism Squad there. He is also facing trial in a National Investigation Agency case in Delhi.
The NIA had sought 10-day custody of Ali in the Pune case claiming he was a member of a banned organization (ISIS) case and was part of a larger conspiracy, adding that he had conducted recce with two other co-accused in the jungles of Satara and Pune.
He had conducted a trial blast of explosives in the jungles and had received arms training, public prosecutor Sunil Gonsalves, representing the NIA, told court.
The NIA alleged drones were used by the accused while conducting recce in jungle and sensitive areas, while social media was employed to inspire people to join the banned organisation.
It told court there was need to investigate the places visited by the accused, the persons they were in contact with as well as the role of handlers.
Opposing NIA's remand plea, Ali's lawyer Junaid Shaikh said he had no connection with the co-accused in the case.
"The entire remand application is frivolous and not reasoned. The arrest was just to inflate the number of accused and the gravity of the case," the defence argued.
The defence also said instead of showing Ali as absconding accused, the NIA could have interrogated him while he was in jail in other cases.
After hearing both the sides, the court remanded him in NIA custody till July 18.
The NIA has so far arrested about a dozen persons in the July 2023 case relating to seizure of arms, explosives, chemicals and ISIS-related literature.
As per the NIA, all he accused were involved in the plans to unleash terror in and around Pune as part of a larger conspiracy to promote the terror activities of the outfit.
The accused were in touch with their foreign-based handler via secret communication apps, the NIA earlier said.
They were also raising terror funds by carrying out armed robberies and thefts and were also receiving money from their handlers, as per the NIA.
(With PTI inputs)
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