Islamic State (IS) has been able to influence very few Indian youths and security agencies are closely monitoring the situation, including keeping under surveillance potential recruits.
Minister of State for Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary told Lok Sabha that government is closely monitoring the situation and has directed the intelligence and security agencies to identify potential recruits and keep them under surveillance.
“The cyber space is being closely monitored in this regard,” he said. The Minister said a few incidents of unfurling of flags of ISIS by some misguided youths were noticed on different occasions in Jammu and Kashmir and some other states in recent past. “…state governments concerned have been directed to take appropriate action against such statements as per relevant provisions of law,” he said.
Home Ministry officials had earlier said that 23 youths have joined the ISIS of which six were reportedly killed. Quoting intelligence inputs, officials had said, it emerged that the dreaded terror outfit considered South Asian Muslims, including Indians, inferior to Arab fighters in the conflict zone of Iraq and Syria.
According to an intelligence report prepared by foreign agencies and shared with Indian agencies, fighters from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh as well as certain countries like Nigeria and Sudan are considered not good enough by ISIS and often tricked into suicide attacks.
The report said that a total of 23 Indians have so far joined the ISIS of which six were reportedly killed in different incidents. Around 150 Indians are under surveillance for their alleged online links with ISIS, the officials had said.
PTI