NEW DELHI: A distress call by a retired Army Lt Colonel to a friend in the National Investigation Agency (NIA) after his daughter threatened to join
terror outfit Islamic State (IS) a few months back triggered an ‘alarm’, though a false one, within the security establishment.
The Hindu girl in this curious case, who recently returned from Australia after her studies, had earlier worked for national English daily. According to sources she was in love with a Muslim boy but her family was opposed to it. She reportedly threatened her parents that “she would join the IS if her relationship with the boy is disapproved by the family”. Her father, in sheer panic, approached the friend in the NIA, the agency dealing with terror cases, including those against the IS. Sources said the father wanted his friend to counsel her against such views. Technically, it is called de-radicalisation — a process of reversing current views and de-legitimising the use of terrorism.
“The NIA clandestinely observed her social media accounts and her Facebook as well as Twitter posts to check if her threat of joining the IS was real. They found that there was nothing ‘radical’ in her posts,” a source said.