Mohammad Siraj ud Din, an employee of Indian Oil Corporation, was arrested in Jaipur for allegedly recruiting for ISIS
A 30-year-old Indian Oil Corporation executive, who was arrested in Jaipur yesterday for allegedly recruiting for ISIS, was in a "two-way communication online with known and active members" of the terror group, the police said today.
Mohammad Siraj ud Din, who worked as a marketing manager with the state-run oil company, was allegedly trying to influence young Muslims through the internet to join ISIS. He was arrested from his house by the Anti-Terror Squad wing of the Rajasthan Police under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
"He was communicating with significant ISIS members online and based abroad... He is an active member... he is not only at the receiving end... he is participating, propagating and instigating... so he is a member of ISIS," said Alok Tripathi, Additional Director General of Police, ATS. His activities were restricted to social media with "no concrete activity on the ground," he said.
According to the police, Siraj ud Din, who belongs to Gulbarga in Karnataka, circulated messages, photos and videos through WhatsApp, Telegram and Facebook to spread the ideology of ISIS, which seeks to establish a caliphate and controls large swathes of Syria and Iraq.
A data analysis of his internet activities revealed that he was deeply influenced by the extremist group and was "active in encouraging Muslim youths for (joining) ISIS activities," police said.
The police also found several downloaded issues of ISIS' online magazine "Dabik" from Siraj ud Din's laptop and mobile phone.
But neighbours of Siraj ud Din, who has been living in Jaipur since 2014, say that they never noticed any unusual or suspicious activity.
"He lived a normal life... it all seemed fine," said Narendra Arora, a neighbour.
Siraj ud Din was sent to judicial custody till December 21 by a court today.