An introvert engineer, closed room and latop: Suspcious tales of ISIS operative held by NIA from Varanasi

Varanasi: A 24-year-old engineering student, who used to spend most of his time inside a closed room with his laptop, and was widely recognised as a shy and introverted boy in his neighbourhood in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, left everyone stunned and shocked when a team of National Investigating Agency raided his house on Thursday evening. Indeitified as Basit Kalam Siddique, the alleged accused has been arrested by NIA for allegedly radicalising the youth in the country at the behest of the prominent terror group ISIS.

According to NIA, the accused, identified as Basit Kalam Siddique, was actively in touch with the operational handlers and indulged in the content, creation, publication and dissemination of the propaganda through the magazine ‘Voice of Khurasan.’

After bursting the ‘Voice of Hind’ module earlier by arresting six of its members, NIA got specific information that the online propaganda was being pushed through a new online magazine ‘, Voice of Khorasan.’

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“On the directions of ISIS handlers in Afghanistan, Basit was trying to fabricate an explosive ‘Black Powder’ and was procuring knowledge on the use of other lethal chemical substances to be used for the fabrication of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs),” NIA stated.

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While speaking to a local reporter who visited Basit’s neighbourhood after his arrest, The Quotes learnt that Basit had left an impression of being an introverted, shy and simple boy in the area.

“His parents claimed that Basit has been trapped. They denied NIA’s claim. They informed me that Basit was a studious kid and used to spend most of his time working on a laptop. He hardly used to watch television and go outside to play something,” added a local reporter (on the request of anonymity).

The Quotes further understood that Basit was spending most of his time on a laptop in a closed room, while NIA claims that he was imparting training on making explosives through several Telegram Groups he operated for carrying out terrorist attacks against vital installations and the civilian population. “NIA has seized incriminating articles such as handwritten notes related to fabrication of IEDs and explosive substances, mobile phones, laptops, pen drives etc.,” read NIA’s press release.

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