The three men know each other well.
By Sreekanth A Nair
Three friends from Malwani area of Mumbai are suspected to have joined the Islamic State terrorist group, police said on Monday.
“We suspect that the three joined the IS and our probe is on to ascertain this,” Malvani police station’s senior inspector Milind Khetle said to Press Trust of India. They have been reportedly missing for a few weeks.
They are identified as Ayaz Sultan, 23, Mohsin Sheikh, 26, and Wajid Sheikh, 25. Ayaz worked at a call center, Mohsin was an auto-rickshaw driver, and Wajid handled his family business.
Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) is also of the view that the three youngsters have joined the IS. ATS has also started an investigation in this regard.
They left home a few weeks back telling at home that they would come back in a few days. But they didn’t come back for days and their parents filed a complaint with the police. The police after receiving the complaint informed the ATS.
“The three men from the same neighborhood are close friends… Their families told us they were planning to leave the country for some time now. They were even saving up to fund their travel,” Mid-Day quoted a senior ATS officer as saying.
“The radicalization and exchange of information were through the Internet. We have confiscated several items from their houses and are investigating,” he added.
Sultan left home on October 30, telling that he was going to Pune to find out about a job offer from Kuwait. Mohsin and Wajid left home on December 16. Mohsin told his parents that he was going to attend his friend’s marriage function and Wajid said that he was going to correct his name in his Aadhar card (identity card issued by the government).
Last week a 16-year-old girl from Pune was sent to a de-radicalization program after being found to have links with IS terrorists and sympathizers within India and outside the country.