The Internal Security Division (ISD) has stepped up its probe into the activities of Islamic State (IS) in Karnataka following the arrest of Mehdi Masroor Biswas in Bengaluru.
Bengaluru Police Commissioner M.N. Reddi said that the probe would start by identifying any followers of @ShamiWitness in the State and checking whether they were in touch with Mehdi. He said while nothing had indicated that Mehdi was a recruiter, it is to be seen whether he had radicalised youths in the State who were following his Twitter account.
The roots of IS in the State were unmasked when a bid to recruit youths in Hyderabad for IS was foiled. Four students, on their way to Iraq, were detained in Kolkata in September. Investigations revealed that the alleged recruiter, who tried to radicalise the youth through the net, was a former SIMI activist from Hubballi.
Additional Director General of Police (Internal Security Division) Amar Kumar Pandey said that they are collecting data on the suspect, who is now based in the Gulf. Unconfirmed sources said that another person, from Bhatkal, is suspected of being a recruiter for IS.
The ISD has been monitoring the north Karnataka region for possible IS recruitments after youths from Kalyan in Maharashtra were linked to IS. A senior officer said that they have not yet uncovered anything on the issue.
