Bengal boy Mehdi Masroor Biswas has become the talking point around the world. Officials of the Islamic State (IS) have started a 'Free Shami Witness' campaign while Kurd fighters celebrated his arrest.
Biswas had a running battle in cyberspace with Kurd fighters who were stridently opposed to Biswas' posts.
"Bengaluru ruthless police arrest brother Mehdi Masroor Biswas as owner of @ShamiWitness Twitter account," reads a tweet from the Twitter handle @IS_WorldPress on the launch of the campaign. "He isn't a poor guy... he is a truthful media hero (and) a freedom of rights analyst," reads another tweet.
IS supporters from around the world tweeted in favour of Biswas and criticised his arrest. "We should do a twitterstorm at a specific time on Saturday (with #FreeShamiWitness). The Kuffar think we have abandoned him," tweeted @al_pasha_. "We all miss #ShamiWitness. Twitter isn't the same without his news," tweeted @SaifAlRasheed97.
On the other hand, supporters and activists of the Kurd guerrilla army PKK - who have been battling IS militants - cheered the news of Biswas' arrest.
They uploaded morphed pictures in which Biswas was seen behind bars, wearing a Christmas hat.
{{/usCountry}}They uploaded morphed pictures in which Biswas was seen behind bars, wearing a Christmas hat.
{{/usCountry}}Kurd activists recently had a heated exchange with Biswas on Twitter, as Biswas supported the IS militants' atrocities on Kurd women, including rape and beheading.
One tweet from him had particularly enraged them: "I should thank PKK for recruiting female fighters, specially the ones caught alive by rebels. Lol," Biswas had tweeted.