Hyderabad: NIA sleuths have collected clues from some lodges in Ananthapur where ISIS suspects had stayed while they were procuring arms. The NIA took Ibrahim Yazdani and another person to a local lodge named Nandi where they allegedly stayed in a room costing Rs 350 a day two weeks ago waiting for a gang from Karnataka to deliver explosives.
The NIA also collected the registry from the lodge which is located about 300 meters away from the APSRTC bus station. NIA sources said the suspect had to return to Hyderabad empty handed after two days as their Karnataka contacts did not deliver the arms and ammunition.
The officials suspect that the IS men decided to choose Ananthpur as they thought it was safer than Karnataka. NIA could not find any local connections of the suspects in Anantapur so far. The gang has not met or interacted with any local resident so far.
Meanwhile, the sleuths are still searching for possible hideouts and more hidden ammunition hidden by the suspects. NIA recovered 17 live rounds from a hidden location in suspect Habeeb’s house in Barkas in the city.
Following interrogation on Tuesday NIA found the five men had created portfolios among themselves. Ibrahim Yazdani was "Raa'bit (the communication officer), Ilyas Yazdani the religious affairs in-charge, Rizwan became the 'Mahasib' (the account keeper) and Habeeb Mohammed became Askari (in-charge of weapons), officials said.
