AA Edit | Spotlight on ISIS Sleeper Cells

Sajid, who was born in Hyderabad around 50 years ago, left home to work overseas at a young age. His work took him to West Asia and Pakistan, where he was indoctrinated into radical ISIS ideology. Sajid, in turn, influenced his son Naveed, who was captured and is being interrogated by the Australian police.

Though initially Sajid was suspected to be a Pakistani, his Indian passport established his Indian links to Hyderabad. The Telangana police swiftly investigated his roots in Hyderabad and revealed all his details, without giving any scope for speculation.

Ever since he left Hyderabad in 1998, the police said Sajid visited the city only six times and had no record of criminal antecedents there. His radicalisation appears to be the result of his interaction with people in West Asia and Pakistan — a modus operandi being followed by ISIS to enrol Indian Muslims into its terrorist agenda.

The Islamic State or ISIS is a transnational Salafi jihadist militant organisation founded in 2006. Many Muslims living around the world joined it, but Indian Muslims were the least affected by its propaganda — forcing ISIS to tap Indian Muslims working overseas.

The recruitment strategy of ISIS in India clusters around online radicalisation, small modules, IED experimentation, handlers and fund-raising channels. In most cases linked to ISIS in India, the sleeper cells consisted of fewer than 10 persons. However, the key concern is the proliferation of sleeper cells in the country. Indian Muslims must guard against being dragged into a global terror factory, and the government must extend all the help they need for this purpose.