BENGALURU: Even as there is no official confirmation on the whereabouts of the city boy Faiz Masood, who left for Syria in September 2013 and has allegedly joined the proscribed terror organisation Islamic State of Iraq & Syria (ISIS), the Intelligence Bureau (IB) is investigating on who is behind his alleged radicalisation; from an English medium educated boy belonging to an upwardly mobile business family to an alleged hardliner and jehadi.
“It is important to investigate who and what changed his mindset and why did he become a hardliner, and to find out if there are any ISIS sympathisers in the city?” said an officer on condition of anonymity.
Masood hails from a well known family in Bengaluru. His father owns a furniture showroom in the heart of the city. He did his primary and middle schooling from a reputed boys’ convent.
“He was a normal boy with interest in sports. He was social till his Class X. Before going to college, there was a change in him. He gradually became reclusive and kept away from many of his school friends. His family got him married early and soon he had two children; a girl and a boy. His daughter was barely a month old, when he left for Syria. He has not been in touch with his family since then and even they don’t wish to speak about him after the news of him joining the ISIS became public. The family has been questioned by the IB and local police and they maintain that they do not know anything about Masood,” said an official source.
Masood is a resident of Cooke Town under the Pulekeshinagar police station limits. He had applied for a passport for himself, his wife and father in July 2013 and approached the jurisdictional police for verification.
“The police had cleared the three applications since they had a clean record. Later in September Masood left for Syria leaving his family behind. He has two brothers, who are very well settled,” the officer added. A section of media quoting an intelligence report stated that Masood was killed fighting for ISIS, but intelligence sources claim that there is no confirmation on this.
ISIS not favoured by youths
The City has sleeper cells of the banned terror modules – Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and Indian Mujahideen (IM) but so far ISIS has not been able to attract the attention of the youth in Bengaluru, said an official source.
“The outfit is brutally violent and does not espouse the cause of Indian Muslims; of their social and economic marginalization,” the officer added.
