Bengaluru: Police here are inquiring into a British news channel report that an online recruiter for the Islamic State (IS) terror group is based in Bengaluru, a top officer said Friday.
“We have take note of the foreign media report and are investigating the matter. As we are trying to get more details, I cannot deny or confirm the news because it (report) does not reveal much,” city police commissioner M.N. Reddi told IANS.
Britain’s Channel 4 News Thursday reported that an Indian executive based in Bengaluru could be one of the biggest online recruiters for the IS and claimed to have unmasked the identity of the man behind the most influential IS Twitter account.
“Our special crime branch, which also deals with cyber crime, is looking into the authenticity of the report. We have always been alert and ready to face any threat perception to the city,” Reddi said.
Revealing the so-called recruiter’s first name as “Mehdi”, the channel said he was working as a marketing executive with an Indian corporate in Bengaluru.
His tweets, under the banner “Shami Witness” were seen two million times each month, making it the most influential IS Twitter account, with 17,700 followers.
“We have heard about the report from Channel 4 News and through Facebook and Twitter accounts. We are checking about the suspect whose whereabouts are not known so far. We will register a case against him after getting more details,” Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Alok Kumar told IANS.
The alleged recruiter has, however, shut down his Twitter account (@ShamiWitness) soon after the channel’s reporters contacted him as it was a source of information for jihadis and their supporters.