KOLKATA:Is the Islamic State (IS) flexing its muscles in West Bengal, too? If a report by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) is to be believed, the extremist outfit has already put up posters in the districts bordering Bangladesh, in a bid to attract people and give a headache to security agencies.
According to a report by the central intelligence agency, a large number of posters have been put up in the villages of Murshidabad and Nadia provoking the locals to join the IS. The state police, however, are clueless about the development and haven’t initiated any action.
The cyber cell of the IB has conducted a national survey to mark the areas from where the IS is trying to recruit youths. Among the five top states are Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal, Assam, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. Apart from bordering districts, even Howrah in West Bengal figures on the list. The survey found that many, including women aged between 16 and 30, are showing interest in IS related activities on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
Last month, at a conference of state DGPs in New Delhi—where officials of the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) were present—the police chiefs were directed to form special teams to keep a watch on websites that are allegedly trying to recruit for the IS. The NTRO, directly under the PMO and governed by the National Security Advisor, also helps central intelligence agencies.
The DGPs were also told to seek help of Muslim religious leaders to preach against the hatred and violence preached by the IS. An NTRO official said the scenario in West Bengal was particularly “disturbing as several youths were preaching and recruiting for the IS from the state by using the Internet”.
Last December, Mehdi Masroor Biswas, a young engineer from the north-eastern part of Kolkata, was arrested by the Bengaluru Police following a tip-off by British security agencies for allegedly campaigning and recruiting for the IS.
Around the same time, the NTRO received information about four Hyderabad youths from US intelligence agencies. The Telangana Police raided a hideout in the city and arrested them before they could cross over to Bangladesh. They had planned to fly from Dhaka to Turkey and then join the IS.
Afsa Jabin, 38, married to a Dubai-based Hindu businessman, was also recruiting for the IS with a fake name of Niki Joseph, claiming to be a British citizen. The Hyderabad native was extradited to India. During the interrogation by the Andhra police and the National Investigation Agency, she disclosed about creating a database of around two lakh youths from India who were interested to join the IS. A large number of them were from West Bengal, and it was easy for them to reach Dhaka and then take flights to the Middle East. The sleuths are also worried that the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, which is much active in West Bengal, might also be aiding the IS.
The IS killing of 50-year-old Italian aid worker Cesare Travella in Dhaka on Monday has alerted Indian intelligence officials. They fear the militants may easily reach the villages of West Bengal by illegally crossing borders of Bangladesh.