NIA attaches house used by al-Qaeda member to prepare for terror attacks

The accused was using the property for various terror-related activities, including fabrication of IEDs and petrol bombs, to carry out terrorist attacks in the state, an official said.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has attached a house in Uttar Pradesh that was allegedly being used by an active member of the al-Qaeda, an official said on Wednesday.

The house on the Ring Road in Dubagga was attached as 'proceeds of terrorism' after it came to light that Minhaj, a member of the al-Qaeda and its offshoot Ansar Gazwat-ul-Hind, was making preparations for carrying out terror attacks, an NIA spokesperson said.

The accused was using the property for various terror-related activities, including fabrication of IEDs and petrol bombs, to carry out terrorist attacks in the state, the official said and added that the house belonged to Minhaj's father Siraj Ahmad.

The NIA, which attached the property on Monday under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, has found that Minhaj had been working closely with Adil Nabi Teli alias Musa, a terrorist affiliated with The Resistance Force, an affiliate of the proscribed terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Musa was killed in an encounter with security forces on March 16 last year, the spokesperson said.

The NIA said its investigation in a case pertaining to radicalisation and recruitment of members for AQIS (al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent) had led to establishing Minhaj’s connections with Musa.

The agency has found that Minhaj had provided funds to the co-accused for the purpose of carrying out terrorist activities in Kashmir, the spokesperson said.

The official said the accused had procured certain raw materials and components to fabricate an IED in a pressure cooker, which was recovered from the property attached on Monday.

Minhaj had also prepared a sample IED using materials in small quantities and had carried out a controlled explosion on the roof of the house, the spokesperson said.

The official said the agency has also found that Minhaj had recorded a video of the fabrication of the IED as well as its controlled explosion and sent it to Musa.

'He had also prepared a petrol bomb and shared a video of its fabrication with Musa. Minhaj had also procured a pistol and live ammunition, and concealed it in his room on the first floor of the house,' the spokesperson said.

The case was initially registered on July 11, 2021 by the Uttar Pradesh ATS. It was taken over and re-registered by the NIA on July 29 the same year.

The NIA has so far arrested and charge-sheeted six accused in the case, the spokesperson said.