Visakhapatnam, May 23 (IANS) The Vizianagaram police in Andhra Pradesh on Friday took into custody two men, arrested last week in connection with an alleged terror plot, and were being questioned.

A day after the Vizianagaram District Court remanded Siraj-ur-Rehman and Sayeed Sameer to police custody for a week, the police took them into their custody from Visakhapatnam Central Jail and shifted them to Vizianagaram for questioning.

Senior officials, including the in-charge Superintendent of Police Madhava Reddy, were questioning the accused to probe further the alleged terror plot.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is also investigating the case, may also interrogate the accused about their links with terror groups in India and abroad.

The duo is likely to be questioned about the plot and the activities of Al-Hind Ittehadul Muslimeen floated by them. The investigating officials will be trying to gather information about their contacts in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and other states.

Siraj was arrested by Vizianagaram police following the recovery of explosives at his residence on May 17. The subsequent investigation led to the arrest of a second suspect, Sayeed Sameer, in Hyderabad.

Sameer was brought to Vizianagaram, and the duo were sent to judicial custody for 14 days.

They have been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, and also under the Explosive Substances Act of 1908.

The two suspects had allegedly procured explosives online and were planning a trial of explosions near Vizianagaram.

According to police, Siraj is an engineering graduate from Vizianagaram while Sameer is a lift operator and is a resident of Bhoiguda in Secunderabad.

The two suspects had allegedly formed a group by the name Al-Hind Ittehadul Muslimeen to carry out their activities. The organisation reportedly has 12 members in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Warangal.

Meanwhile, NIA and intelligence officials carried out searches late Thursday night at Tadigadapa in the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh. They reportedly searched a house in which seven people were staying.

The officials reportedly picked up a few suspects and whisked them away. Their identity was not known. It was also immediately not clear if the search was related to a terror plot busted by the Vizianagaram police.

Following the Pahalgam terror attack and its aftermath, police and intelligence agencies are maintaining a tight vigil on suspects.

–IANS

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