‘Afghan handler told IS-inspired group to behead RSS, BJP men’

The members were also asked to record the act on video, according to a senior Home Ministry official.

The six men, part of an Islamic State-inspired group and arrested from Kerala earlier this month, had allegedly been asked by their Afghanistan-based handler to behead at least three persons, two belonging to the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh and one of the Bhartiya Janata Party. They were also asked to record the act on video, said a senior official of the Union Home Ministry.

One of the accused — Abu Basheer, 29, alias Rashid, a mechanic — had been asked to procure swords, the official said.

They had been under watch for four months and were arrested on October 2 as they assembled at a hilltop in Kannur of Kerala to plan an attack at a rally planned for November by the RSS in Tamil Nadu, the official said.

Officials of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had earlier told

The Hindu that the module had been under surveillance for four months, and they arrested the group on October 2 after one of the accused — Manseed alias Omar al Hindi, 30, a Kerala resident working in Qatar — made an unscheduled visit to India in the last week of September.

Hilltop meeting Manseed, together with five others, had assembled at a hilltop to plan blasts and attacks on key politicians in Kerala and Tamil Nadu when they were apprehended, a statement by the NIA had said.

The accused were introduced to one another by a person whose online identity was Abu Aysha. He claimed to be operating from the Islamic State-held Khorasan province in Afghanistan. It was Aysha who administered the group on Telegram, a web- based chat application platform, and relayed instructions.

“The handler, whose real identity is not known, had told the accused that they should record the beheading on video and release the video clip to the press for the maximum impact,” the official said. “They were told that procuring explosives was a tough task, so they should instead use swords, which are easily available,” he said.

The other members are Swalih Mohammed T, 26, who works at Club Mahindra in Chennai; Safwan P, 30, a designer for a newspaper; Jasim N.K., 25, an engineer; and Ramshad, 24, an accountant.

The handler also asked the accused to attack several places at Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu that are frequented by Jews. “They wanted to make international headlines, and were asked by their handler to attack Jews in Kodaikanal as they would be soft targets,” the official said.