GUWAHATI: A final year student of Biotechnology at the esteemed Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT Guwahati), has been detained by the Assam Police on suspicions of affiliating with ISIS, a terrorist group.
The fourth-year student, Tauseef Ali Farooqui, had reportedly declared his intentions to join the terror outfit via social media platforms and emails before mysteriously disappearing from the IIT-Guwahati campus.
However, after launching a manhunt, the law enforcement located him in Hajo, situated in Assam’s Kamrup district, and detained him.
Director-General of Police GP Singh confirmed the detention, stating, “Reference IIT Guwahati student pleading allegiance to the group – the said student has been detained while travelling, and further lawful follow-up would take place.”
Subsequent to initial questioning, he was escorted to the Special Task Force (STF) office in Guwahati for further scrutiny regarding the motive behind his correspondence.
In a concerning revelation, Assam’s STF disclosed the discovery of a black flag, reminiscent of ISIS’s insignia, along with an Islamic manuscript, in the student’s hostel room.
Senior police officials highlighted ongoing investigations to determine the intent behind the email communication, withholding further details at this juncture.
Farooqui’s detention comes on the heels of the arrest of Haris Farooqi, alias Harish Ajmal Farukhi, and his associate Anurag Singh, alias Rehan, in Dhubri district on March 20.
The duo, intercepted in the Dharmasala area of Dhubri post-crossing from Bangladesh, are alleged to be deeply indoctrinated members of the Islamic State, engaged in activities ranging from recruitment to terror funding and orchestrating attacks across India.
Haris Farooqi, hailing from Chakrata, Dehradun, is purportedly the Indian head of operations of the terror outfit, while Singh, originally from Diwana, Panipat, has reportedly embraced Islam, with his spouse being a Bangladeshi national.
Both individuals have multiple pending cases against them with agencies like the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).
