The National Investigation Agency (NIA), India's prestigious anti-terror body, raided 19 locations in four states on Monday in connection with the ISIS* network case and arrested eight people, allegedly involved in terror activities, according to an official statement.
Ballari and Bengaluru in Karnataka, Amravati, Mumbai and Pune in Maharashtra, Jamshedpur nd Bokaro in Jharkhand; and Delhi were the places where raids were conducted, the NIA said in the statement.
The NIA said that the arrested people had planned to use explosive raw materials for preparing IEDs to target citizens.
Gunpowder, ethanol, sharp edged weapons, potassium nitrate, unaccounted cash, incriminating documents, smartphones and other digital devices were recovered from them, it added.
A week ago, the central agency raided over 40 locations in Maharashtra and arrested 15 people. One of those arrested was an ISIS module leader who used to administer an oath of allegiance to new recruits, the report said
The raids were said to be part of an investigation into the terror plot by terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda** and ISIS.
*ISIS-K, Daesh (IS/ISIS/ISIL) is a terrorist organization banned in Russia and other states.
** Al-Qaeda is under UN sanctions for terrorism.