NIA conducts pan-India searches in online terror radicalisation case

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday (July 8, 2926) carried out nationwide searches in a case related online terror radicalisation.

The radicalisation was “aimed at establishing an Islamic state in India through violent jihad against the democratically elected government by promoting the ideology of ISIS and AQIS (Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent) terrorist organisations”, the agency said.

The NIA searched 20 locations in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Delhi, as part of the ongoing investigation in the case.

“Today’s searches led to the seizure of several digital devices, which will be forensically examined for further clues into the radicalisation conspiracy,” the NIA said. Eleven accused have been arrested and one juvenile apprehended in the case so far, which the NIA had taken over from the Vijayawada police in May 2026.

The police had registered the case in March following a search at the residence of key accused Rehmatullah Sharif Mohammad, which resulted in the seizure of incriminating materials related to AQIS and ISIS.

“The NIA, which is working to identify others involved in the plot to destabilise the country and establish ‘Caliphate’, has found that the arrested accused and their aides were engaged in indoctrination of vulnerable youth across the country through violent jihadi content and misinformation,” the agency said.

The accused were also in online contact with their foreign handlers, the NIA said.