THRISSUR: According to the statements of Ashif, who were arrested by the NIA from Satyamangalam in Erode, terrorists turned Veerappan's hideouts into IS training centers. Following this, the NIA team from Kochi conducted extensive searches in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Earlier, the news of Popular Front of India (PFI) training in the forest areas of Kanakamala, Pathanamthitta and Vagamon had come out. In Ernakulam, they planned to trap RSS leaders and some NIA officials. It was also revealed that the accused had planned to kill the ex-IPS officer who investigated the hand-chopping case while being on remand in Kannur jail. The NIA has concluded that both of them knew about the murder case of Ramalingam, the leader of the Pattali Makkal Party who questioned the conversion efforts. Information was collected from both of them about the five accused and the conspiracy to nab them. In Madurai, Thanjavur, Tiruchirappalli, Tirunelveli, Mayilatumthura, Tirupur and Villupuram, the residence of SDPI state president Nellayi Mubarak and the homes of absconding Ramalingam murder accused Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Abdul Majith, Burkhanuddin, Shahul, Hameed and Nafeel Hasan were searched. The IS contacts were made when Ashif was working abroad. They were caught after the information of planning massive robberies to find money for IS and explosions in Kerala came out. Ashif is also likely involved in Ramalingam's murder. A video of him getting into an argument with Ramalinga over conversion and having a verbal altercation is now widely circulated. There may be arrests in the following days.