Sleuths from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday interrogated five persons in Coimbatore and one in Tirupur on the charge of engaging in pro-IS propaganda on social media and online messaging platforms.
NIA officials said those interrogated were associates of two persons questioned by the agency in Coimbatore on Thursday.
The six suspects were interrogated at the Kattoor police station and the City Police Commissioner’s office.
Two of those who were questioned on Saturday run old book stores near Town Hall, while two others are employees of a footwear outlet. A 26-year-old youth, a garment unit employee from Nallur in Tirupur, was also questioned.
Three persons have been asked to appear at the NIA station in Kochi on Monday, sources said. All the men interrogated by the agency in Coimbatore were active on social media, sources said. The agency has been monitoring the content posted by them.
Fake FB profiles
“Fake Facebook profiles were used for interaction with like-minded people. We are examining the digital evidence,” said an officer.
Extensive searches were conducted in Coimbatore and Alappuzha in Kerala on Thursday.
During searches conducted in Coimbatore and Alappuzha in Kerala on Thursday, the NIA seized 10 mobile phones, four laptops, two hard discs, one pen drive, 77 DVDs / CDs, three memory cards, 16 SIM cards, books, diaries and manuscripts. The seized devices would be subjected to forensic examination.
Interpol notice
According to NIA officials, two of the three persons questioned in Coimbatore and Alappuzha had contacts with Kannur native Abdul Rashid Abdulla, a member of the 20-odd group that left India and joined the IS last year. Abdulla is among 16 persons, including four women, against whom the Interpol had issued Red Corner Notices.
An official statement from the NIA said that two of the suspects, whose premises were searched on Thursday, disseminated pro-IS propaganda material when they were in contact with Abdulla, an accused in the IS Kasaragod module case.
According to the officials, Abdulla has been radicalising them and urging them to join a terrorist organisation.
During interrogation, the duo reportedly disclosed to have radicalised youth through the speeches of Salafi preachers like Zakir Naik and Anwar Al-Awlaki. They also admitted that they were following various IS groups on social media.
( With inputs from R. Vimal Kumar in Tirupur)
