Hyderabad/Guntur: Intelligence agencies suspect that three persons of Telangana state and AP origin, suspected to be from NRI families living in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, have joined ISIS in 2015. A few weeks back, the police had identified a suspect in Visakhapatnam who was trying to pass on information to Pakistani terror handlers and had plans to go to Pakistan.
He, however, was not linked to the ISIS, said sources. While Mohammed Haneef Waseem, 27, from Mancherial in Adilahad died in Syria fighting for the ISIS, latest reports state that three people from the Telugu states are still on the battlefield.
State holds firm against ISIS lures
Intelligence officials had de-radicalised more than 37 persons in the Telugu states, mostly from Telangana, with the help of religious heads and community groups last year.
There were 23 instances of youths getting in touch with IS handlers that were brought to the notice of agencies in both states.
ISIS influence is also being felt in Visakhapatnam, Kurnool and Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh apart from Hyderabad and surrounding districts in TS.
A top police official of AP said, “Two months ago a suspect was caught in Visakhapatnam while he was passing information to Pakistani handlers. He is not a linked to the ISIS. While we de-radicalised him, he was also booked under certain sections of the law. If he is exposed he may turn hardcore. There are no specifically identified IS sympathisers from Andhra Pradesh so far.”
An Intelligence Bureau official said, “They started recruiting youths from across the globe. They attracted people from marginalized and most excluded sections — from the Telugu speaking states too — to induct in their organisation to fight against nations.
“On the other hand, intelligence sources have observed that since Indian youth have less desire for revenge, ISIS recruiters have negligible success in India.”
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