Indian Sikh woman among 16 terror suspects arrested by Malaysian police; 38-year-old was member of pro-Khalistani group Sikhs For Justice

Kuala Lumpur: An Indian Sikh woman was among 16 terror suspects arrested by the Malaysian police for allegedly planning to attack leaders of local political parties, a media report said on Thursday. [caption id=“attachment_6883561” align=“alignleft” width=“385”] Representational image. ANI[/caption] The suspects, some of whom were linked to the Islamic State, were arrested in a special operation conducted between 10 August and 25 September in Kuala Lumpur, Sabah, Pahang, Johor, Penang and Selangor cities, state-run Bernama news agency reported. The 16 terror suspects comprised 12 Indonesians, three Malaysians and one Indian national, it said. Quoting Ayob Khan Mydin, assistant director of Malaysian police’s counter-terrorism division, the report said the 38-year-old Indian woman, who worked as a cleaner, was a member of the secessionist Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) group. India in July banned the pro-Khalistani group for its alleged anti-national activities. The US-based SFJ pushes for Sikh Referendum 2020 as part of its separatist agenda. The group’s primary objective is to establish an “independent and sovereign country” in Punjab. He said two Malaysians detained in Sabah were responsible for spreading IS propaganda and acted as facilitators for an Indonesian couple and three of their children who carried out a suicide bombing attack on a church in Philippines in December last year. The two also arranged for funds to be channelled to the Maute terrorist group in southern Philippines, he said. Mydin said some of the suspects created new IS cells in Malaysia and promoted the group through social media. “They were also active in recruiting new members, including Indonesians and Malaysians, and planned to launch attacks in Malaysia and Indonesia after recruiting as many members as possible,” he said.