Mumbai: Police officers investigating the case of Mumbra resident Tabrez Tambe, who has allegedly joined terror outfit Islamic State (IS), said his family came to know of his intention several weeks earlier and tried to dissuade him. When they failed, they approached the State Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), they added.
ATS officials said on Friday that Tambe, 28, left India in January, telling his family that he had landed a job in Egypt. As he had been shuttling in and out of the country, taking up various jobs abroad over the last five to six years, his family did not suspect something was amiss.
An officer said, “Soon after his departure, Tabrez, during conversations with his family over phone or via internet, started showing a radical bent of mind. In some recent conversations, he mentioned he was in Libya and that he intended to join the IS. His family, including his brother Saud, tried hard to reason with him. When he remained adamant, they approached us earlier this week.”
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Over the years, IS has established a significant presence in Libya, which began after the Libyan civil war in 2011. In 2014, Ansar al-Sharia, a terrorist faction linked to the al-Qaeda, shifted loyalties to the IS and many militants who moved from Syria to Libya added to its numbers. ATS officials said a key factor in Tabrez’s alleged indoctrination seems to be by a friend, identified only as Ali.
“Tabrez and Ali met in Riyadh two years ago, when Tabrez was working there. He returned to India in 2015 and stayed with Saud in Mumbra a while. Late in 2015, Ali paid a visit and stayed with the Tambe brothers at their Mumbra residence for a few days. Shortly after Ali’s visit, Tabrez announced his intention to go to Egypt. In his most recent conversations with Saud, Tabrez said Ali was with him in Libya,” an officer said.
The ATS has already contacted central intelligence agencies and has received preliminary confirmation of Tabrez joining the IS, who are investigated this. The ATS on Friday conducted searches at Saud’s Mumbra residence and at the Tambes’s ancestral house in Ratnagiri, where Tabrez’s wife and extended family stay. Tabrez married around three years ago, and the couple do not have children.
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The ATS has seized all cell phones belonging to the Tambes to verify numbers from which Tabrez called themover the last year. The ATS has also seized several laptops to analyse his internet browsing history, while his social media accounts are also being tracked.
Earlier this year, the ATS and the National Investigation Agency had arrested several Indians across the country for alleged IS links. One of them, Mudabbir Sheikh, was a Mumbra resident. Investigators are currently investigating if there was any contact between Mudabbir and Tabrez, and are making inquiries with his friends and family to ascertain if he had been influenced by a particular ideology.