Coimbatore : National Investigation Agency (NIA) today carried out searches at two houses in Coimbatore.

The searches were said to be a follow up of the case pertaining to the criminal conspiracy hatched by six charge-sheeted accused persons and their associates, with the intention of furthering the objectives of ISIS/ Daish by targeting certain Hindu activists in the city.

The houses in Lorrypet and G M Nagar in the city were searched by NIA sleuths from early today.

The accused arrested by Tamil Nadu Police in this case in September last year and charge-sheeted by NIA in February this year had conducted preparations, including reconnaissance of targets, for launching such attacks, which would have caused communal disharmony and terror in the State, NIA release said.

Investigation has revealed that the charge-sheeted accused persons and their associates were radicalized on the violent extremist ideology of ISIS/ Daish
by following the speeches and videos of the Sri Lankan ISIS/ Daish leader Zahran Hashim, over social media platforms.

The release said that searches have been conducted at the houses of the associates of the charge-sheeted accused persons, at two locations in the City besides one location each in Sivaganga, Tiruchirapalli, Nagapattinam and Toothukudi districts.

Two laptops, eight mobile phones, five SIM cards, one SD card and fourteen documents have been seized, during the searches and seized articles would be subjected to forensic examination.

The persons searched are being questioned to verity their association with the charge-sheeted accused persons besides any role, it said.