Police seek Interpol help to nail ISIS sympathiser Mehdi Masroor Biswas
In a bid to make the chargesheet stronger, the police have sought the help of the Interpol to assist them in identifying the 1,151 foreign followers (with highly suspicious activities) of Mehdi on his Twitter handle.
There seems a sense of unease in the ranks of Bengaluru police with each passing day as time is running out to file the chargesheet against ISIS sympathiser Mehdi Masroor Biswas, who was arrested from the city in December last year. The police have to file the chargesheet against Mehdi in the next 60 days, otherwise he can walk free. As per rules, the police have to file the chargesheet within 180 days of arresting any person.
In a bid to make the chargesheet stronger, the police have sought the help of the Interpol to assist them in identifying the 1,151 foreign followers (with highly suspicious activities) of Mehdi on his Twitter handle.
"We have already gathered sufficient evidence against Mehdi. However, to make the case stronger, we need to establish the connection between him and 1,151 international followers, who too have tweeted on behalf of IS. Merely establishing the connection is not sufficient, we need to prove that these 1,151 followers of Mehdi shared similar ideology and thoughts. We need their detailed profiles. However, as they are from different countries, Twitter is citing jurisdictional problems to provide their profiles. Therefore, we are seeking the help of Interpol and take the official route," sources in Bengaluru police said.
At the time of arrest, Mehdi had 17,800 plus followers on his Twitter account out of which 15,000 plus were from foreign countries, mostly hailing from West Asian nations and the United Kingdom. One of the main accusations against Mehdi is that he motivated UK youths to join the IS as jihadists.
Of the 15,000 plus international followers, the police zeroed in on 1,151 Twitter handles, who had interacted with Mehdi through the Direct Messaging (DM) option. "We have gathered incriminating evidence from DM. There is reference to terrorrelated activities in Kashmir in those direct messages. We have to ensure that these followers share some kind of a common ideology with Mehdi. We may have to talk to them. This job can be carried out only through the Interpol," the sources added.
Apparently, Twitter had initially agreed to share the profiles and details of the 1,151 Twitter handles, but backed out citing jurisdictional issues. "It is also a laborious task for them to collate information. This job can be best executed by Interpol. We are in the process of involving the Centre to refer the case to Interpol at the earliest," the sources added.
The police admitted that it could be a time consuming process, as Interpol would need at least 4-6 months to provide the details of the 1,151 Twitter handles.
"It will be helpful if Interpol can provide information even a dozen people from the list of 1,151. Nevertheless, we are optimistic of filing a strong chargesheet," the sources added.
Mehdi has been charged under IPC section 125 (waging war against the Government of any Asiatic power in alliance with the Government of India) and Sections 18 and 39 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. He tweeted under the ID @Shami-Witness and endorsed the crimes committed by IS. His cover was blown by the UK-based TV Channel 4, which interviewed him and he admitted to being a sympathiser of the IS.