ISIS terror suspect from Rajasthan fleeing to Qatar held from Delhi airport

The Intelligence Bureau (IB) detained a man having “strong links” to the ISIS from the Indira Gandhi International airport (IGIA). The Rajasthan-based man, who had arrived at the Delhi airport to board a flight to Doha, one of the frequently used channels to reach the ‘ISIS hit Syria’, is suspected to be inspired by the terror module.

According to the IB sources, it was on Friday when a man arrived at the immigration counter at Terminal 3 of the Delhi airport for clearance to board a Jet Airways flight – 9W-554 to Doha, Qatar.

“The passenger was identified as Mohammad Shadeek, a permanent resident of Bikaner in Rajasthan. During verification, based on some secret inputs of his links with the terror module – Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, he was detained and agencies concerned were roped in. The passenger was jointly interrogated by the sleuths of Intelligence Bureau and Delhi Police’s special cell. On further suspicion, he was offloaded and was taken to the city office of Delhi Police Special Branch,” a senior intelligence officer said.

When contacted, the Special Branch confirmed the detention but said that “no information in this regard can be shared”.

This, however, is not the first time when an ISIS-inspired suspect has been arrested from the Delhi airport. In November last year, a man from Kerala’s Kannur with alleged ISIS links, who was deported by the Turkish Police for holding a fake passport, was also arrested.

In April 2017, the government had told the Rajya Sabha that around 80 people who were suspected to have been inspired by the ideology of the terror module, have been apprehended. In the previous year, a group of 21 people from Kerala had allegedly joined ISIS, which included six women and three children.

Recently, the Delhi Police had also stepped up vigil on online portals and social media sites through which these ISIS like terror modules were trying to recruit youths in India.

In September last year, an al-Qaeda operative of British nationality was nabbed by the Delhi Police’s Special Cell, who had been using the social media to incite gullible youths to join the outfit and contribute funds. A day after this, an ISI agent was arrested, who had been blackmailing a woman colonel through social media.

These are not the only incidents wherein social media was used by militant groups to connect with the masses and hunt for likeminded people, who can then be used to carry out terrorist activities.

Talking about the modus operandi, sources said that once spotted, a target is gradually fed with information on jihad and is inspired to join the ‘revolution for freedom’ through encrypted messages.

Source: DNA India