Sri Lanka arrests alleged manager of Islamic State suspects detained in India

Sri Lanka has arrested the alleged perpetrator of four of its nationals arrested at India's Ahmedabad airport for their alleged links to the banned Islamic State group (ISIS).

The island nation's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested Pushparaja Osman, 46, in Colombo on Friday.

Sri Lanka Police recently announced a cash reward of Rs. 2 million for credible information on his whereabouts. The police had issued a wanted notice and released a video of him seeking information from the public.

The CID arrested him and he allegedly made contact with the four arrested at the Ahmedabad airport over telephone, police said.

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested four Sri Lankans with links to ISIS at Ahmedabad airport. The four men took an Indigo flight from Colombo to Chennai on May 19.

Commenting on investigations carried out so far, police spokesperson Nihal Thalduwa said Sri Lanka Police were still unable to verify that the four men were linked to the terrorist group. “Whether they had promoted IS ideology in Sri Lanka is yet to be established,” he said.

Last month, Sri Lankan authorities launched a large-scale operation to investigate the four Sri Lankans arrested in Gujarat.

Authorities say they would take no risks in the face of possible ISIS activity on the island nation after the 2019 Easter Sunday attack that killed more than 270 people.

The investigation focused on whether the local jihadist group, which carried out the attack, had links to ISIS at the time.

Among those arrested in Gujarat, Mohammed Nusrat is a businessman involved in importing telecommunication devices and electrical equipment from countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Dubai.

Nusrat operated in Colombo where he sold these imported goods.

Mohammad Nafran, 27, who was also arrested, was identified as the son of the first wife of Niyas Naufer alias “Potta Naufer”, the notorious underworld criminal who was sentenced to death for the murder of the district judge. Sarath Ambepitiya High Court.

The other two Sri Lankans are Mohammad Faris, 35, and Mohammad Rashdeen, 43, both from Colombo.

Faris worked as a cart puller in Pettah and was arrested by the Colombo Crime Branch on March 11, 2023 and November 1 of the same year.

On May 21, his close associate Hameed Amir was arrested by the Terrorist Investigation Division. Mr. Faris left for India on May 19.

The other suspect is Mohammad Rashdeen, a driver. Security forces suspect he is linked to crystal meth or ICE trafficking.

On September 16, 2022, Rashdeen was arrested and later released on bail.