Assam: IIT student on way to join Islamic State detained, says police

A student of the Indian Institutes of Technology-Guwahati was detained after he allegedly pledged allegiance to the terrorist organisation Islamic State, the Assam Police said late on Saturday.

The student, identified as Touseef Ali Farooqui, was detained from the Hajo area near Guwahati with the help of locals on Saturday evening. He was allegedly on his way to join the terror group.

GP Singh, the director general of police, confirmed in a social media post on Saturday that the student had been detained “while travelling”.

The student has been booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, PTI quoted the police as saying on Sunday. The Islamic State and its units are banned in India under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

Kalyan Kumar Pathak, the additional superintendent of police of the special task force, told PTI that an investigation had been launched after receiving an email.

The email was sent by the student, in which he allegedly claimed that he was on his way to join the terror group, PTI reported.

Pathak said that authorities at the Indian Institutes of Technology-Guwahati were immediately contacted. They said that the student had been “missing” since noon and his mobile phone had been switched off.

The student, hailing from Delhi’s Okhla, is in the fourth-year of his course, PTI quoted Pathak as saying.

“After initial questioning, he has been brought to the STF [Special Task Force] office,” he said. “We are verifying the motive of the email.”

The police said that a black flag, “purportedly similar to that of ISIS”, had been found in the accused’s hostel room.

“We are going through the items seized, it is early to say much,” Pathak was quoted as saying. “We are investigating the intention of sending the email. The student has given some details, but we cannot disclose anything further now.”

Farooqui’s arrest came four days after Haris Farooqi alias Harish Ajmal Farukhi, the head of the Islamic State in India, and his associate Anurag Singh alias Rehan, were arrested in Assam’s Dhubri district after they crossed over from Bangladesh.