The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a supplementary chargesheet against two persons, who have been accused of being affiliated to the Islamic State terror outfit.
They have been identified as Afshan Parvaiz Jarabi and Tawheed Latief Sofi, both residents of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir. They have been arraigned in connection with a case registered by the agency in June 2021, pertaining to a conspiracy by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) to radicalise and recruit the youth in India.
The accused were part of a group that ran an organised campaign over the cyberspace, supplemented by on-ground terror financing activities. “The case was registered against cyber entity, Qasim Khurasani, and his associates. Earlier, a chargesheet was filed against four ISIS terrorists in this case on January 6,” said the agency.
The NIA alleged that Afshan Parvaiz was a close associate of the chargesheeted accused, Umar Nisar. He was also associated with Afghanistan/Pakistan-based ISIS operatives and was actively involved in the recruitment for the outfit. “After the arrest of Umar Nisar, he was appointed as the head of ISIS activities in India and was handling media as well as ground activities of ISIS. He was actively disseminating ISIS propaganda materials through various online platforms,” the agency said.
Accused Tawheed Latief Sofi also knew Umar Nisar and Jufri Jawhar Damudi. “He was involved in content editing and poster creation for the ISIS propaganda magazine, Voice of Hind,” alleged the NIA, adding that he had carried out a reconnaissance of potential targets for terror activities.