Kochi, May 6: An NIA court here on Monday sent alleged Islamic State (IS) operative Riyas Aboobacker, who was arrested by the agency on April 29 from Palakkad, to Kerala Police custody. The day after his arrest, Aboobacker was remanded to judicial custody till May 29. Moving an application for his custody, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) admitted that Aboobacker was getting himself mentally prepared to turn into a suicide bomber. ISIS Suspect Arrested From Kerala Was Planning to Carry Out Sri Lanka Easter Sunday-Type Suicide Bombings: Reports.

The NIA added that they wanted to include three more people as accused in the case in which the agency has already arrested 21 persons. Aboobacker, according to the NIA, has confessed to creating plans to blow himself him up in Kerala and for that he had been trying to recruit and got in touch with the three people.

In their custodial plea application of Aboobacker, the NIA pointed out that they need to interrogate him further to crack the case and it will also help to wipe out any future attempt to create trouble in Kerala. ISIS Kasaragod Module Case: NIA Conducts Raids at Three Locations in Kerala.

The 29-year-old had earlier disclosed that he has been following speeches and videos of Zahran Hashim, a radical Tamil-speaking cleric who is believed to have masterminded the April 21 Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka which left 253 people dead. Aboobacker's arrest came after the agency unearthed the Kasargode module of the terrorist outfit in Kerala during multiple raids.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 06, 2019 04:12 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).