The United Arab Emirates has deported five suspected Indian-origin operatives of the Islamic State group from Abu Dhabi. The central intelligence agencies are interrogating them, the Times of India reported.
The five persons are between the age of 20 to 25 years and know each other, the reported added citing intelligence sources. One of the suspects is from Uttar Pradesh, and two each from Mumbai and Chennai.
“The UAE intelligence agencies had intercepted their communication in which they were discussing their plans to recruit more and carry out Jehad against India. They were in touch with senior leaders of Islamic State,” an officer said, reported TOI.
Another officer stated that this perhaps is the largest deportation of suspects of Islamic State group in a week’s time from a Gulf nation. “The five boys did Umrah (Islamic pilgrimage) at the age of 18 or 19 years and have strong religious beliefs,” the officer added, according to the report.
An official said the suspects are being interrogated about their plans in India and about their other associates in the country. “It is not yet known which IS module in India they were part of but UAE authorities detained them for almost three months on the basis of strong evidence suggesting their association with the global terror outfit,” the officer was quoted as saying.
In February, an Indian-origin woman named Fatima Patel and her partner Safydeen Aslam Del Vecchio were arrested and brought before court at Vryheid, South Africa, in connection with the disappearance of a British couple. Patel and Del Vecchio are also facing terrorism charges for their alleged links with the Islamic State group.
During his visit to UAE in February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks UAE president Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan regarding cooperation in the field of terrorism. “Recognizing that both India and the UAE are multicultural and pluralistic societies, the two leaders reiterated their common resolve in promoting the values of tolerance, peace, inclusiveness and in countering extremist ideologies,” a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs said.
In July 2017, Shahjahan Velluva hailing from Kannur in Kerala, who had been deported twice from Turkey, was appended by the Special Cell of Delhi Police following U.S. intelligence agency CIA’s information that he is arriving in India. Velluva was arrested from Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, PTI reported.
The story has been modified and updated. Subsequent reports suggest that the main suspect suffered from a psychotic disorder and possibly fabricated his IS association in a mentally unbalanced state.