Thoothukudi, Feb 24 (UNI) National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday carried out simultaneous searches at multiple locations in Tamil Nadu, as part of its investigation into the murder of Special Sub Inspector (SSI) of Police Y.Wilson in Kanyakumari district.
The searches began this morning was currently underway at Thoothukudi, Chennai, Salem, Cuddalore and Neyveli, preliminary reports quoting police sources said.
Two terror suspects A.Abdul Shameem (32) and M.Thoufique (28) gunned down the SSI at the Padanthalumoodu check post on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala inter-State border on January 8, to take revenge for the arrest of C.Khaja Moideen, an ISIS operative by the Delhi police in early January.
Khaja Moideen (52), a native of Cuddalore district in Tamil Nadu has been attempting to set up a network of ISIS sympathizers to carry out terror strike across the country.
The sources said a four-member NIA team from Kerala is conducting searches at the house of one Mohideen Fatima at Kaayalpattinam near Tiruchendur in Thoothukudi district, based on specific inputs that both Abdul Shameem and Thoufique stayed in her house for a while before murdering the police officer.
The NIA sleuths were also conducting raids on the premises of some employees of major telecom service providers in Chennai for issuing SIM cards to the terror suspects. The SIM cards were procured using fake documents and were allegedly activated with the documents of genuine customers.
It is speculated that around 200 SIM cards were sold using fake documents.
Reports said the NIA team is conducting searches at the residence of Abdul Rahman in Mohamed Pura locality in Salem, who was recently arrested on charges of helping those having links with ISIS terror module to gain mobile SIM cards. The officials were also conducting searches in the mobile phone store owned by Abdul Rahman.
Abdul Shameem and M.Thoufique were nabbed at Udupi Railway Station on January 14 in a joint operation by Tamil Nadu and Kerala Police with the help of Karnataka Police.
The SSI murder case was handed over to the NIA in view of terror links.
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