The increasing influence of the dreaded international terrorist organisation ‘Daesh’ or ISIS on the youth in Telangana has left the police and intelligence authorities in the State very much concerned.
In a report sent to the Union Home Ministry, the Telangana Intelligence Department has said that at least 60 active supporters of the terrorist organisation were already identified. They were in addition to 19 people who had already come to the notice of the police and 16 of them were detained and released after counseling. The report has also pointed out that number of sympathisers active on the social media and spreading the views of the terrorist organisation was in hundreds and they were also posing a serious threat.
Intelligence officials say that though the propaganda of ISIS was attracting the youth from many states of the country but there number was highest in Telangana.
The intelligence report assumes significance as an engineer from Adilabad district in Telangana was killed in Syria while fighting for ISIS. At least three others arrested by the Hyderabad Police for their alleged links with the ISIS. They include a US returned youth Salman Mohiuddin, Dubai-based Hyderabadi girl Afshan Jabeen, who was in Hyderabad jail after her deportation, and another youth Munawwar Salman was also detained when he tried to leave the country to join ISIS.
Software Engineer Mohammed Atif Waseem, a resident of Mancheriyal in Adilabad had gone to london for higher studies. lured by the propaganda, he joined the ISIS in Syria and died in fighting. Union Home ministry confirmed last month that he was one of the six Indians who died while fighting for ISIS in Syriya. The information came after one Adnan Hasan Damudi was arrested by Dubai police on the charges of luring the Telangana youth towards the ISIS. 26 year old Waseem’s family also received information from ISIS about his “martyrdom”.
Hyderabadi girl Afshan Jabeen based in Dubai had also used the social media forums to attract the youth from Telangana to join the terrorist organization. Her name came out after another Hyderabadi youth Salman Mohiuddin was arrested last year while leaving Hyderabad to join ISIS. After prolonged efforts the Dubai authorities handed her over to Hyderabad police and she is lodged in Hyderabad jail.
According to the Hyderabad police officials they had detained more than a dozen youth on different occasions when they tried to leave the country to join ISIS and they were released after counseling and de-radicalization. Their families were also involved in the exercise.
“We are still closely monitoring all such elements”, a senior police official said without going in to further details.
In a latest alarming development a youth from neighboring Andhra Pradesh was also suspected to have joined ISIS. According to Intelligence Bureau 38 year old engineer from Guntur Talfizur Rahman had joined the terrorist organization and was active in Syria. The name of Rahman, who was earlier working Kuwait, had come to the light during the monitoring of social media exchanges related to the ISIS.
In its report to the Union Home Ministry Telangana Intelligence department said that those who joined the ISIS and other sympathizers were posing twin threats. Firstly they can lend helping hand the any attempt to carry out terrorist attacks in the state. Secondly they can also indulge in “lone wolf attack” on the lines of similar attacks in other countries.