Sri Lanka police arrests 'handler' of four ISIS suspects apprehended in Gujarat
Osman Pushparaja Gerard, 46, was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department in Colombo after a Rs 2 million cash award was announced for his whereabouts. He is suspected to be the handler of the four Sri Lankans with alleged links to ISIS, who were arrested in Gujarat on May 19.
Colombo: The Sri Lankan police have arrested the suspected handler of the four of its nationals who were arrested at Ahmedabad airport in India for their alleged links with the banned Islamic State (ISIS) outfit, according to media reports. The Criminal Investigation Department in Colombo arrested Osman Pushparaja Gerard, according to the Daily Mirror.
Sri Lankan security forces had earlier suspected the 46-year-old Gerard as the main handler of the four accused and the police recently announced a cash award of Rs 2 million for any credible information on his whereabouts. This came after the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad arrested four Sri Lankans with links to ISIS at the airport in Ahmedabad. The four men took an Indigo flight from Colombo to Chennai on May 19.
The police revealed that Gerard - a resident of Dematagoda, often changes his appearances, and these are some of the appearances that detectives suspect he may be using now. He is believed to have facilitated the movement of the suspected Sri Lankans with alleged ISIS links from the country to India. Police had issued a wanted notice and a video of him seeking information from the public. The CID arrested him and he was believed to have made telephone contact with the four people arrested at the Ahmedabad airport, the police said.
Who are the four Sri Lankans arrested in India?
The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) on May 19 arrested four Sri Lankans with links to the ISIS at the Sardar Vallabhai Patel airport in Ahmedabad. The ATS also seized three pistols and cartridges abandoned at a location in Ahmedabad based on geo-coordinates and seized a mobile phone from their possession. The four men had taken an Indigo flight out of Colombo to Chennai on May 19.
Among the arrested individuals, Mohammed Nusrat is a businessman involved in importing telecommunication devices and electrical equipment from countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Dubai, as per reports. The other three Sri Lankans are 35-year-old Mohammad Faris from Maligawatte, Colombo, 43-year-old Mohammad Rashdeen from Colombo 13, and 27-year-old Mohammad Nafran. This collaborative effort between India and Sri Lanka involves both Colombo's Army Intelligence Division and the Police Terrorist Investigations Division.
Commenting on the investigations so far the police spokesman Nihal Thalduwa said that police were unable yet to verify that the four are linked to ISIS. “If they had promoted the ISIS ideology in Sri Lanka is yet to be established," he said.
How did the Sri Lankans operate?
Nusrat operated within Colombo, where he sold these imported goods. Nafran, who was also arrested, has been identified as the son of the first wife of Niyas Naufer aka 'Potta Naufer' the notorious underworld criminal who was sentenced to death for the killing of High Court Judge Sarath Ambepitiya.
Nafran dropped out of school and started a business by travelling to India, purchasing clothing material, and returning to Sri Lanka to sell it. He was arrested by Sri Lanka Police in 2017 for a charge filed under the National Gem And Jewellery Authority Act. Additionally, Faris had worked as a 'Nattami' or cart puller in Pettah, and was arrested by the Colombo Crimes Division on March 11, 2023, and November 1 of the same year. On May 21, his close associate Hameed Amir was arrested by the Terrorist Investigations Division. Mohammad Faris left for Chennai, India on May 19.
The other suspect is Security forces suspect that Rashdeen is linked to trafficking crystal meth or ICE. On September 16, 2022, Rashdeen was arrested by the Foreshore Police and was later released on bail. Last week, the Sri Lankan authorities launched a high-powered operation to investigate the four Sri Lankans arrested in Gujarat.
The men travelled to India to carry out terror activities at the behest of the banned terror outfit Islamic State (IS) and are members of ISIS radicalised by a leader from Sri Lanka who is living in Pakistan, according to the Indian police. “A senior Deputy Inspector General-headed police team has been appointed by the Inspector General Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon,” police Spokesman and Senior Superintendent Nihal Thalduwa told PTI.
(with inputs from agencies)
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