Chennai: NIA files charge sheet against 10 ultras of Jihadi gang ‘Shahadat is our Goal’

The charge sheeted ultras are Sheik Dawood of Tanjavur district, Mohamed Rifas, Muparish Ahamed, Abubakar Siddiq and Hameed Asfar of Ramanathapuram district, Ahamed Imithiyas of Tiruvarur, Mohamed Rashid of Cuddalore, Liyakath Ali of Salem, Sajith Ahamed and Rizwan Mohammed of Tiruvarur district in Tamil Nadu.

They have been booked under sections 120B, 153A, 121A and 122 of IPC, sections 13 and 18 of UA (P) Act and section 25(1)(a) of Arms Act.

This case was originally registered as FIR 46/ 2018 dated On April 2, 2018 under sections 153A and 120B of Indian Penal Code, sections 15(c), 17, 18, 19 and 20 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and sections 25(1)(a) of Arms Act, 1959 at Keelakarai Police Station in Ramnathapuram district of Tamil Nadu after the arrest of accused Mohamed Rifas, Muparish Ahamed and Abupakkar Sithik from Keelakarai.

Lethal weapons, including swords along with pamphlets pertaining to the terrorist gang ‘Shahadat is our Goal’, were seized from their possession.

NIA re-registered the case as RC-01/2019/NIA/DLI on January 10 in 2019 and initiated investigation which established that the charge-sheeted accused persons were radicalized by violent jihadi ideology.

The prime accused Sheik Dawood and Mohamed Rifas had conspired with co-accused and organized meetings at various places in Tamil Nadu, since Ramadan, 2017 with the intention of radicalising and recruiting the co-accused and others for shahadat (getting themselves killed) to establish Islamic rule in India.

“The accused had created various social media groups, especially on WhatsApp and were disseminating materials advocating violent jihad, including the videos and speeches of the Sri Lankan Islamic State of Syria and Iraq (ISIS) leader Zahran Hashim”, the officials in the NIA said.

Accused persons had also prepared pamphlets titled “Shahadat is our Goal” calling for violent jihad to liberate their associates lodged in prisons, they added.

In furtherance of the conspiracy, accused Sheik Dawood and Mohammed Rifas had also attempted to carry out terrorist acts by procuring illegal firearms in order to liberate their associates lodged in prisons, the probe agency said, adding that the further investigation in the case has been continued.