A US-trained engineer, Salman Mohiuddin, whose family stays in Hyderabad, was arrested by the police on Friday, minutes before he was to take a flight to Dubai. Mohiuddin was allegedly planning to join trans-national terror group Islamic State (IS) in Syria.
Mohiuddin is alleged of having “strong, direct links with the IS”, said a city police official who requested anonymity. Mohiuddin was taking a flight to Dubai, where his girlfriend, purportedly a non-Indian, stays. She is on the police’s scanner as well. A counter-terror source told HT, “Salman Mohiuddin was arrested on inputs provided by US Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
Anjani Kumar, city police’s additional commissioner of police (law and order) confirmed Mohiuddin’s arrest, saying he was allegedly “active with the Islamic State and was nabbed in close cooperation with Central agencies.” Kumar refused to elaborate further, saying his interrogation would yield more facts about his background and the exact nature of involvement with the IS.
According to police, Mohiuddin had arrived in Hyderabad around three months ago from the United States and had been staying there while counter-terror agencies tailed his cyber activities. Sources said the Cyberabad police, which arrested Mohiuddin, are expected to invoke charges under the unlawful activities prevention act and for creating hatred between communities.
{{/usCountry}}According to police, Mohiuddin had arrived in Hyderabad around three months ago from the United States and had been staying there while counter-terror agencies tailed his cyber activities. Sources said the Cyberabad police, which arrested Mohiuddin, are expected to invoke charges under the unlawful activities prevention act and for creating hatred between communities.
{{/usCountry}}The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had last November arrested engineer Arif Majeed, a resident of Kalyan in Maharashtra, for his alleged IS links after he landed in Mumbai. A case was lodged against him under section 125 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with waging war against any Asian country having friendly ties with India, entailing maximum punishment of life imprisonment.
The Hyderabad police, over the past few months, too detained several youth who were in touch with alleged “IS elements at cyber chatrooms,” said the source.