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Maharashtra ATS probing if ISIS-inspired group has more members, its source of financing

Each member of the group was in touch with a chat group and their cyber-activity is being probed. Physical training was part of their group activity, say police officer.

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Interrogation from the nine members having alleged links with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria had named their group as Ummat-e-Mohammediya (followers of the prophet), Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) sources revealed on Wednesday.

"Since past few weeks, the group had been active. They had named their group as Ummat-e-Mohammediya, which means followers of the Prophet. Each member of the group was in touch with a chat group and their cyber-activity is being probed. Physical training was part of their group activity," said a police officer.

Another important fact which had come to the notice of the investigators is that one of the arrested members of the group was in touch with an ISIS handler through social media and was taking instructions from which he used to later pass on it to the other members of the group.

The agency is now probing if more persons were associated with the said group. "Possibility of more persons being associated with this group cannot be ruled out at this stage. We have just got their custody and we would be questioning them to get more details about their plans and to ascertain if they had more associates within or outside the country," said the officer.

The police is also probing from where the group had been receiving finances to plan and execute the terrorist activity. "We would be checking their bank accounts as well to ascertain if they had received money through suspicious persons," the officer said.

In the past few years, the ATS has made efforts to thwart ISIS's online reach to radicalise and recruit gullible youths using provocative text or visual messages. The ATS has managed to successfully block more than 550 sites and de-radicalised at least 115 youngsters, including a few women from across the state and brought them to the mainstream.

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