The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday said that it has arrested nine Al-Qaeda terrorists planning attacks in several places in the country, including the Delhi NCR after simultaneous raids at Ernakulam in Kerala and Murshidabad in West Bengal.
All the nine operatives are linked to Pakistan-sponsored Al-Qaeda module and were planning terror plot targeting Kochi, Delhi and Mumbai. Six of them were arrested from Murshidabad and three from Ernakulam. Large quantity of incriminating materials including digital devices, documents, jihadi literature, sharp weapons, country-made firearms, a locally fabricated body armour, articles and literature used for making home-made explosive devices have been seized from their possession.
“NIA had learnt about an inter-state module of Al-Qaeda operatives at various locations in India including West Bengal and Kerala. The group was planning to undertake terrorist attacks at vital installations in India with an aim to kill innocent people and strike terror in their minds,” the agency said in a statement.
The arrested terrorists will be produced before the concerned courts in Kerala and West Bengal for police custody and further investigation.
