ISIS suspects were using Facebook and Whatsapp, says NIA

Three youths, arrested for alleged links with ISIS, were using social networking platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp to indulge in terrorist and anti-national activities, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) claimed in a charge sheet filed on Monday.

The accused have been identified as Sheikh Azhar-ul- Islam (24), resident of Ganderbal in Jammu and Kashmir, Adnan Hassan (36), a native of Bhatkal in Karnataka, and Mohammad Farhan Shaikh (25), who hails from Mumbra, Maharashtra, it said.

These accused were arrested on January 29 in Delhi by the NIA for their alleged involvement in promoting the ideology of ISIS, inciting others to join the outfit and indulging in terrorist and anti-national activities through Nimbuzz, Google Talk, Facebook, Whatsapp, Skype, Vkontakte, Kik, Twitter, Hangouts, Snapchat, YouTube, Viber, Wickr, Surespot, Google Drive and Telegram, the agency said. They were arrested from Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) after their deportation from UAE, official sources said.

The e-devices seized from their possession at the time of their arrest include four laptops, two tablets, seven mobiles, five SIMs, three Secure Digital (SD) cards, two pendrives and some incriminating documents, it said.

"These accused persons in connivance with their associates based in UAE and other countries were also actively involved in receiving, collecting and distributing funds to persons interested to go to Syria to further the activities of the ISIS using banking channels including Western Union," the NIA said in a press release.