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A key functionary of Islamic State-affiliated group Junud-al-khilafa-fil-Hind (JKH), whose over 20 members were arrested by NIA in 2016, has been deported from Saudi Arabia and arrested by the agency. Sources said Amzad Khan hails from Rajasthan but had been working in Saudi Arabia since 2014. Known by online identities of Ayan Khan Salafi, Muhammadi Ayan and Al Wala Wal Bara, Khan allegedly played a major role in radicalising Indian youth and motivating them to work for the IS.
He was also allegedly in regular touch with Bengaluru Church Street Blast accused and former Indian Mujahideen operative Alamzeb Afridi. NIA sources said Khan had helped Afridi hide at the Hyderabad house of IS accused Nafees Khan when he got wind of police being on his tail.
Khan was the key man along with former IM man-turned IS recruiter Shafi Armar who allegedly motivated Indian youth online to form JKH and pledge allegiance to IS, says NIA.
NIA has said that Khan was deported by Saudi Arabia on Tuesday and remanded to NIA custody by a local court on Thursday. According to NIA, Khan is the son of a retired railway employee in Rajasthan and worked as a mason in Saudi Arabia.
“On preliminary questioning, it was ascertained that the said Ayan Khan Salafi’s actual name is Amzad Khan, 37 years, (matric pass), son of Buniyad Khan, resident of Ward No. 15, Ratnagarh, District Churu, Rajasthan,” an NIA statement said.
NIA has already filed two chargesheets in the case against 17 accused last year and the case is under trial.
“Amzad Khan had emerged as one of the principal characters in the conspiracy hatched by the absconding accused, Yusuf-al-Hindi @ Shafi Armar and other members of the newly formed organisation ‘Junood-ul-Khilafa-Fil-Hind’, who pledged their allegiance to the proscribed terrorist organization, ISIS, for carrying out subversive activities in India,” the NIA statement said.
It said that during investigation it was established that Khan was also in regular online contact with Nafees Khan, Shafi Armar, Rizwan alias Khalid and Azad Bhai (all IS accused) apart from one more accused in the case who later turned approver. He had maintained constant contact with the men through Facebook, Nimbuzz, Trillian and Telegram messaging applications between November-December, 2015 and January, 2016, NIA said.
“Further, the said suspect was also in regular online contact on Nimbuzz chat application with the main accused, during December, 2015, to January, 2016, in the case under RC-01/16/NIA/Hyd (Bengaluru Church Street Blast Case), namely, Alamzeb Afridi, native of Ahmedabad, who is now lodged in Bengaluru jail,” NIA statement said.
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