GUWAHATI:Although no person from Assam has joined the Islamic State (IS) so far, people’s interest in the terror outfit is on the higher side in the state, police said here on Tuesday.
“We haven’t seen anyone from Assam joining the IS so far but a lot of interest in the group has generated in recent times. Monitoring the searches on websites, Assam has shown a great curiosity in IS. The interest shown here is as high as it is in Jammu and Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh,” state Director General of Police Khagen Sarma told reporters here, adding that the police are both alert and worried.
Sarma said the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) was keeping a watch on online activities. “We are not capable of monitoring the sites as they are satellite-oriented and we do not have the required equipment. The NTRO and other agencies are monitoring them and updating us,” the DGP added. According to Sarma, both Hindu and Islamic fundamentalists are active in the state. That Islamic fundamentalism is active was evident from the arrests of a number of elements owing allegiance to Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and recovery of arms and ammunition from them, he said.
“However, we haven’t seen any action by Hindu fundamentalists in the state. If they commit a crime, we will know who they are working for,” Sarma said. He added that the JMB, whose activities in India had come to the fore last year following the Burdwan blast, was a part of pan-Islamic fundamentalism. The DGP admitted that the threat posed by Islamic fundamentalists was on the rise in Assam.