Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) have suspected that three youth from Malwani, Malad-West (Mumbai) may have joined Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
It has been reported that they left the city by making excuses to the family members. Their family members have now approached the police.
23-year-old Ayaz Sultan left home on October 30, saying he was going to Pune regarding a job interview in a Kuwait company. 26-year-old Mohsin Sheikh left home on December 16, saying he was going to attend a friend’s wedding.
Likewise, 25-year-old Wajid Sheikh said he was going to get his Aadhar card corrected on December 16. And neither of them returned.
A senior ATS officer told Mid-Day that all the three men are close friends and live in the same locality. Their families said that they were planning to leave the country for some time now.
The three friends were also saving to fund their travel. All the things have been exchanged on Internet.
“We have confiscated several items from their houses and are investigating.”
The Mid day report says Ayaz is a college drop-out and took up a job at a call centre in Malad to support his family. Wajid, a graduate ran the family’s wholesale business in lemons. On the other hand, Mohsin drives an auto-rickshaw.
Last week, a senior official of state-run Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) was arrested for alleged links with terror organisation ISIS, police said. The Special Operation Group (SOG) and ATS of Rajasthan Police arrested Mohd. Sirazudin, the marketing manager of IOC in Jaipur.
Sirazudin, hailing from Gulbarga in Karnataka was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for his alleged involvement in (activities of) dreaded terro outfit ISIS, supplying official inputs and recruiting organisation members in the country.
Police have now sought help of central agencies to track the men.
In May 2014, four youngsters from Kalyan traveled to Syria to join the ISIS .
In December last year, Mehdi Masroor Biswas, a Bangalore-based techie from West Bengal, was arrested for operating an pro-IS Twitter handle, @ShamiWitness, and posting tweets calling for jihad against India. He takes pride in calling himself a “soldier of IS“.
In November last year, 23-year-old Kalyan youth Arif Majeed made headlines when he “escaped” back to India six months after joining the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.
The case of these three youth who are missing is an eye-opener for the security agencies in the country to get alert from the danger of IS entering India.