Sri Lankan police have arrested the alleged perpetrator of 4 of their residents who have been arrested at Ahmedabad airport in India for his or her alleged hyperlinks to the banned Islamic State (ISIS) group.
The Prison Investigation Division arrested Pushparaja Osman, 46, on Friday in Colombo.
Sri Lanka Police just lately introduced a money reward of Rs 2 million for any credible data concerning his whereabouts.
Police had issued a wished discover and a video of him in search of data from the general public.
The CID arrested him and he’s believed to have made phone contact with the 4 folks arrested on the Ahmedabad airport, police mentioned.
The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested 4 Sri Lankan nationals with hyperlinks to ISIS on the Ahmedabad airport. The 4 males took an Indigo flight from Colombo to Chennai on Could 19.
Commenting on investigations carried out to date, police spokesperson Nihal Thalduwa mentioned police haven’t but been capable of confirm that the 4 are linked to ISIS.
“It’s but to be established whether or not they had promoted ISIS ideology in Sri Lanka,” he mentioned.
Final month, Sri Lankan authorities launched a robust operation to research the 4 Sri Lankans arrested in Gujarat.
Authorities say they won’t take any possibilities with attainable ISIS actions on the island after the 2019 Easter Sunday assault that killed greater than 270 folks.
Investigations centered on whether or not the native jihadist group that carried out the assault had hyperlinks to ISIS on the time.
Amongst these arrested in Gujarat, Mohammed Nusrat is a businessman concerned in importing telecom units and electrical gear from international locations like Singapore, Malaysia and Dubai.
Nusrat operated in Colombo, the place he bought these imported merchandise.
Mohammad Nafran, 27, who was additionally arrested, has been recognized because the son of the primary spouse of Niyas Naufer, often known as ‘Potta Naufer’, the infamous underworld prison who was sentenced to dying for the homicide of the choose of the Sarath Ambepitiya Excessive Courtroom.
The opposite two Sri Lankans are Mohammad Faris, 35, of Maligawatte, Colombo, and Mohammad Rashdeen, 43, of Colombo 13.
Mohammad Faris had labored as a ‘Nattami’ or cart puller in Pettah and was arrested by the Colombo Crime Department on March 11, 2023 and November 1 of the identical yr.
On Could 21, his shut affiliate Hameed Amir was arrested by the Terrorist Investigation Division. Mohammad Faris left for Chennai, India, on Could 19.
The opposite suspect is Mohammad Rashdeen, a three-wheeler driver. Legislation enforcement suspects he’s linked to methamphetamine trafficking or ICE.
On 16 September 2022, Rashdeen was arrested by the Coastal Police and later launched on bail.
