IIT-Guwahati Student Detained After Pledging Allegiance To ISIS; Full Story Here

An IIT-Guwahati student has been apprehended following suspicions of pledging allegiance to ISIS from Hajo in Assam, on Saturday. The student is in his fourth year of Biotechnology. He recently expressed his intention to join the terrorist group on social media and through emails before disappearing from the IIT-Guwahati campus. The current incident follows the arrest of Haris Farooqi, the alleged head of ISIS in India, in the Dhubri district. Farooqi was apprehended after reportedly entering India from Bangladesh. 

As per police, a lookout notice was issued for the student, originally from Delhi, after he posted an open letter on LinkedIn explaining his motives. He was in Hajo, approximately 30 km from Guwahati, within the Kamrup district, and taken into custody for questioning. Upon contacting the authorities at IIT-Guwahati, the police were informed that the student had been reported as "missing" since noon, and his mobile phone was turned off. 

Director General of Police GP Singh took to ‘X’ to inform about the incident, He wrote, “The said student has been detained while travelling and further lawful follow up would take place.”Meanwhile, Additional Superintendent of Police (STF) Kalyan Kumar Pathak said that they have received an email and after verifying the authenticity of the contents thw police started investigation. The email was sent by the student, in which he claimed that he was on the way to join ISIS. 

Haris Farooqi, who was allegedly active since 2019, was apprehended along with his associates by the Assam police on Wednesday. One of his associates, Anurag Singh alias Rehan, hails from Panipat and converted to Islam. His spouse is a Bangladeshi citizen. Farooqi was suspected to be hiding in Bangladesh and orchestrating the radicalisation of Indians. He has been pivotal in establishing networks in various states including Jharkhand, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Punjab, Maharashtra, and Karnataka. Farooqui, originally from Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh, was wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). 

Regarding the IIT-Guwahati student, sources from the Special Task Force reported that he was escorted to his dormitory room where authorities discovered a black flag resembling the ISIS flag and an Islamic manuscript. Described as solitary, the student didn't have companions on campus, according to the police.