THRISSUR: The NIA has arrested a Malayali man, with links to ISIS, from a rented house near the Sathyamangalam forest area on the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border. The said man allegedly robbed ATMs to find funds for terrorist activities.

Asif (36), a resident of Padoor in Thrissur, was arrested on Tuesday afternoon. He was produced in the NIA court in Kochi yesterday and remanded.

He was caught from a rented house at Bhavanisagar Thottumpalayam near Sathyamangalam in Erode district. He was under the surveillance of NIA for three months.

His mission was to carry out ATM robbery, online bank fraud and grand theft in Kerala to raise funds for terrorist activities. He was caught by the NIA after as an ATM card fraud gang. He is accused of killing an RSS worker in Padoor and for extorting Rs 30 lakh in Palakkad.