New Delhi: Arif Majeed, the young engineer from Kalyan, near Mumbai, who had joined the Islamic State (of Iraq and Syria) terror outfit but returned to India on Friday with help from Central intelligence agencies, has made a startling revelation during custodial interrogation: he said that ISIS had roped in a number of operatives across the world, even in India, who identify vulnerable youth and recruit them for the terror outfit.
Arif, now in the custody of the National Investigation Agency, is being questioned by a joint team of Central intelligence agencies at a safe location in Mumbai.
Sources said Arif’s disclosure is extremely significant as the NIA and intelligence agencies want to unravel the entire mystery on how the youth from Kalyan and his three associates were influenced and went on to join the ISIS in Iraq.
Sources said once the intelligence agencies identify the people behind this entire operation, more arrests were likely in the coming days.
In another crucial disclosure, Arif is believed to have told his interrogators that there are at least 13 Indian youth now fighting for ISIS either in Iraq or Syria.
Earlier, the security agencies had anticipated that this number was limited to four Arif and his three associates.
Though initially Arif had insisted he had got influenced simply by watching ISIS videos and reading its literature on the Internet and social media websites, the intelligence agencies are taking these claims with a lot of scepticism.
“We strongly feel there must be some people within the country indulging in indoctrination of young men and sending them abroad, either through Iraq or some other countries, to join ISIS,” a senior intelligence official said.
“Now there is information that at least 13 Indians have joined the ranks of ISIS, there is a possibility that ISIS has some sympathisers in India who are indoctrinating these youth.
It is possible these ISIS sympathisers are posing as travel agents and facilitating the movement of these youth to Iraq or other Middle East countries,” the official added.
As of now, most of Asif's interrogation is focused around how the groups, after reaching Iraq, came into contact with ISIS, who had introduced them to the ISIS leaders, who had recruited them and details of their training.
But Arif has so far been evasive on most of these queries, making the intelligence agencies extremely suspicious about Arif's real motive in returning home.
The security agencies are trying to verify all the claims made by the Kalyan youth, such as whether he was really injured in the airstrikes on ISIS and how he sustained two bullet injuries.
Arif has claimed he managed to escape to Turkey after his injuries, from where he contacted his family, expressing willingness to come home.
Senior intelligence officials, however, say it is extremely rare for a dreaded terror outfit like ISIS to let any of its cadres either return or escape so easily from its custody.
All disclosures by Arif are, therefore, being thoroughly checked at a variety of levels.
