The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested an accused in the 2016 Kanakamala IS module case of Kerala. Mohammad Polakkani, who had been absconding, was arrested from an airport in Kerala on his arrival from Georgia on Saturday.
The case pertains to the 2016 incident where a group called Ansar-ul-Khilafah Kerala, which allegedly has links to the terror outfit of Islamic State, reportedly conspired to carry out planned terror strikes in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The alleged conspiracy plan was held at Kanakamala in Kannur district of Kerala. The NIA had then arrested six men.
Out of the nine persons named in the case, including Mohammad Polakkani, six were convicted, a Kozhikode native was acquitted and one person is still under trial.
Though the six persons were convicted in the case, the trial court had concluded that NIA could not establish the alleged Islamic State link of the group.
Kannur native Mohammad Polakkani was arrested from the airport as he arrived in Kerala from Georgia, said a report by Sreenath N of News 18 Malayalam. As per the report, the accused was brought to the NIA court in Cochin along with the three Al Qaeda terror accused arrested on Saturday from Ernakulam.
As per The Hindu, he had been reportedly using various social media accounts in different names through which the group allegedly operated. The NIA traced his location last year and had issued a lookout notice.
Mohammad Polakkani was reportedly the first accused in the case. However, as he absconded, other eight accused were named as accused one to eight.
The convicted men include Manseed Muhmood alias Omar al Hindi, Swalih Mohammad from Chelad in Ernakulam, Rashid Ali from Coimbatore, Kozhikode native Ramshad, Tirur native of Safwan and Kasaragod native Meynuddin Paravakadathu.
Reportedly the group had conspired to attack prominent persons in Kerala, including High Court judges, top police officers and politicians.
All convicted six men were found to be sympathisers of banned outfits. The court has said that three convicts had also received funding to carry out terror activities and had recruited members to join a terror outfit.