Islamic State mastermind arrested by Kolkata Police was arrested twice before

The Islamic State has been largely recruiting operatives online. It ropes in the Muslim youth through its ideology and on the promise that they would help set up the Caliphate

New Delhi, Jan 13: Abdul Saqib Qureshi an operative of the Islamic State who was nabbed by the Kolkata Police on December had been arrested in 2009 and 2014 also.

Qureshi was nabbed by the Special Task Force of the Kolkata police on December 9 last year following the interrogation of his subordinates, Mohammad Saddam and Syed Ahmed. Both had been arrested by the STF sleuths from West Begal's Howrah district.

News agency IANS while quoting sources said that in 2009 Qureshi was arrested in an attempt to murder case. In 2014, he was arrested on charges of raising slogans in support of the Taliban. He was associated with the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) before he could join the Islamic State.

Qureshi was released from jail in 2019, following which he joined the Islamic State and began to spread the messages of the terror group and brainwashed youth along with roping them in to be part of the outfit.

Qureshi was supposed to meet with Mohammad Saddam in New Delhi this month. However before that he got arrested. Qureshi met Mohammad Saddam through the social media and influenced him to join the Islamic State. Saddam on the other hand brainwashed Syed Ahmed to join the Islamic State.

The report said that all the three are extremely tech savvy and each one is proficient in multiple languages, including Arabic.

Mohammad Saddam is a qualified engineer, while Syed Ahmed is a student of mechanical engineering with the Aliah University. Mohammad Saddam would interact with the Islamic State handlers in Syria and Saudi Arabia in only the Arabic language, the police have learnt.

The Islamic State since its fall in Syria and Iraq has largely used the online platform to recruit people into its fold. It has flooded the Internet with propaganda material. Many Muslim youth have fallen prey for the same and ended up either joining the outfit or carrying out lone wolf attacks in the name of the Islamic State. The terror groups says that its sole intention is to set up the Islamic Caliphate.