Aligarh Muslim University examining records of student arrested for ISIS 'link'

Aligarh: The authorities at Aligarh Muslim University are examining the records of Faizan Ansari, the 19-year-old student arrested by the NIA for allegedly being an ISIS member, a senior official at the institution said on Friday.

The entire record of Ansari alias Faiz is being examined by the university authorities. A clearer picture of his antecedents should be available once the institution resumes regular functioning after the summer vacations, Aligarh Muslim University Proctor Mohammad Waseen told PTI.

The 19-year-old student was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for allegedly being a member of global terrorist group ISIS after searches at his home in Jharkhand and rented accommodation in Uttar Pradesh, a spokesperson of the federal anti-terror agency said on Thursday.

The arrest followed an ongoing crackdown against ISIS modules operating in the country after the registration of a case to thwart any terror attack, the official added.

Waseen said Ansari secured admission in the university's BA (Economics) course last year. He had also applied for accommodation in a university hostel but "since there was no vacancy in the hostel allotted to him, he did not reside on campus" and was staying in a rented accommodation.

The university is checking its records to determine if Ansari had appeared for the annual examinations in June. He had appeared for the first-semester examination earlier this year, the proctor said.

On Thursday, the NIA official said the searches at Ansari's home in Jharkhand's Lohardaga district and rented room in Aligarh were conducted on July 16-17 during which several electronic devices, incriminating material and documents were seized.

Ansari, along with his associates and other unknown individuals, had hatched a criminal conspiracy to support ISIS activities in India and disseminate the outfit's propaganda over social media.

The conspiracy was aimed at carrying out violent terror attacks in India on behalf of ISIS, the agency spokesperson had said.

Investigations revealed that Ansari and his associates had pledged their allegiance to ISIS, the official had said.