Accomplice of ISIS-linked Sri Lankans arrested in Gujarat nabbed

Colombo, May 23 (PTI) Sri Lanka police on Thursday said they have nabbed an accomplice of four of its citizens arrested in India who was on an alleged mission to carry out terror activities there at the behest of the banned Islamic State.
     The accomplice, who is the son of a renowned drug lord, was arrested at the central Colombo ward of Maligawatta, police said and added that he is being continuously quizzed at the terrorist investigation division of the police.
     Earlier on Wednesday, a senior Deputy Inspector General was appointed to head a team to investigate the four Sri Lankan citizens arrested on Sunday by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in India after acting on a tip-off at the Sardar Vallabhai Patel airport in Ahmedabad.
     The investigators said the four men had taken an Indigo flight out of Colombo to Chennai on May 19.
     Indian police said the men travelled to India to carry out terror activities at the behest of the banned terror outfit Islamic State (IS) and are members of IS radicalised by a leader from Sri Lanka, who is living in Pakistan.
     The appointed DIG has the crime investigation division and the terrorism investigation division of the police under his command and would coordinate with the intelligence agencies in the probe.
     The accused, Mohammad Nusrat (35), Mohammad Faarukh (35), Mohammad Nafran (27) and Mohammad Rasdeen (43), informed investigators that they were earlier associated with the banned Sri Lankan radical militant outfit, National Thowheeth Jamath (NJT), and joined IS after getting in touch with Pakistani handler Abu Bakr Al Bagdadi, Gujarat Director General of Police Vikas Sahay had said.
     The men were paid Rs 4 lakh in Sri Lankan currency to carry out the activities, he had said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)