Man with suspected IS links arrested

According to a senior ATS official here, the man identified as Rizwan Khan was arrested from his residence at Kalyan in Thane district on Friday night. 

“Since the arrest was made by Kerala police, we don’t have much details,” the official said. 

However, sources said Khan was allegedly responsible for recruiting youth to join IS. A case has also been registered against him in Kerala in connection with conversion issues. 

Police said Khan will be taken to Kerala and the matter will be investigated by their counterparts in the southern state. 

Earlier this week, Maharashtra ATS and Kerala police had nabbed a man identified as Arshi Qureshi, associated with controversial preacher Zakir Naik’s Islamic Research Foundation, from Navi Mumbai for his alleged links with IS. 

Qureshi was picked up from his Navi Mumbai residence on July 21 and placed under arrest in connection with a case registered in Kochi at Kerala on July 17. The case was registered days after at least 21 youth from Kerala were reported missing and suspected to have joined IS. A local court in Navi Mumbai had granted Kerala police Qureshi’s transit remand till July 25. 

Naik, a televangelist who also runs Peace TV, has been under scanner of various agencies after one of the attackers involved in the Dhaka terror strike posted that he had been influenced by the  preacher.