Watch kept on 150 for ISIS links

The government has put around 150 people under the scanner across the country for suspected links to ISIS, who may either be sympathisers or radicalised elements, after the security agencies raised the alarm. For the first time, the security agencies, working together with state governments, are making intensive efforts to wean away some of those who were just misled by ISIS propaganda.

Till now, around 40 youth have been de-radicalised, with the help of their families and senior community leaders. The state governments, which were going slow in setting up mechanisms to identify and track ISIS sympathisers and formulate counter-radicalisation strategies, are being asked to pull up their socks. The states are being told that key counter-radicalisation steps include refraining from framing charges against such youth, no registration of FIRs, and to instead involve their families and elders to help them get out of the ISIS’ clutches.

After the horrific terror strikes in Paris last week, India’s intelligence agencies said in a report that 23 Indians are known to have gone to ISIS-controlled areas in Iraq and Syria to fight for the terrorist outfit. Out of these, six were killed while one returned home to Mumbai.

A large number of those under the scanner for ISIS links within the country belong to Telangana, Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka and Kerala. Kerala is one of the states which has not been able to do much, despite the fact that high social media traffic related to ISIS activities has been detected in the state. The state also contributes significantly to the large Indian diaspora in the Gulf, which is also the largest source of ISIS fighters in Syria.

A senior official said here that most of those under the security agencies’ scanner are from southern India, and were spotted by the intelligence agencies while they were monitoring ISIS social media traffic. A quiet study was also done by these agencies immediately after the Paris attacks last week to detect those who may be showing sympathy or understanding of the terrorists, if not direct allegiance. However, little has emerged from this, leading to the suspicion that most ISIS sympathisers have also gone underground after the attacks in France.

“Most of the persons under surveillance have been in regular contact with some ISIS activists online. Hence, we kept all of them under surveillance,” an official said.

Among those now fighting for ISIS in Iraq-Syria are two youth from Kalyan in Mumbai’s outskirts, an Australia-based Kashmiri, a youth from Telangana, another from Karnataka, an Oman-based Indian and another who is based in Singapore.

Among the six Indians killed fighting for ISIS were three Indian Mujahideen terrorists, including Sultan Ajmer Shah and Bada Sajid, who had joined its ranks after being in Pakistan, in addition to two from Maharashtra and one from Telangana.