| Youth detained for being IS sympathizer, family denies allegations | | | Agencies
Srinagar / New Delhi, Jan 30: A 23-year-old Kashmiri youth, from Preng village of Jammu and Kashmir's Ganderbal district, was amongst three alleged IS sympathisers who were deported from UAE on Saturday for purportedly being on a mission to carry out terror attacks in India and some other countries.
On their arrival from UAE, the trio, Sheikh Azhar Ul Islam from Jammu and Kashmir, Adnan Hussain from Karnataka and Mohammad Farhan from Maharashtra were arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. They have been placed in NIA custody till February 9.
Speaking to the media, Islam's family denied allegations and said their son was working as a waiter in UAE since 2015 in a bid to relieve his family of debt. His father told a local news portal, Kashmir Dispatch, that his son was a graduate pursuing a bachelors in education. "I am a poor man and have debt on me. He went abroad to relieve us of the debt. We are poor people," he was quoted as saying.
Family sources said their son was arrested after some activity on social media. "Check our family history; no one amongst us has ever taken the path of violence in life. People who know him in our neighbourhood will vouch for him," he said.
According to sources, during in-camera proceedings, the NIA sought custodial interrogation by saying they needed to invesitgate the matter to unearth the conspiracy. Sources said district judge, Amar Nath, allowed NIA's plea and remanded them to their custody for 10 days.
The three suspects, along with other unknown associates, were allegedly involved in a conspiracy to identify, motivate, radicalise, recruit and train Indian citizens, located in
India and abroad. This was being done to plan and execute terror attacks in India and other countries, the sources claimed. On September 15 last year, the UAE had deported four Indians suspected to have links with ISIS.
According to Indian intelligence agencies, around six Indians who had joined the ISIS were reportedly killed in different incidents in Iraq and Syria. |
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