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Mehdi Masroor Biswas, who is alleged to have been operating a pro-Islamic State twitter account, has been dubbed by his interrogators as an extremely radicalised youth who believes that beheading of the ‘enemy’ and making abducted women sex slaves was nothing wrong.
The 24-year-old, who was arrested on December 13 in Bengaluru, told interrogators that he believed in the extreme form of Islam and that one day the so-called caliphate or Islamic State will come into existence in the world.
"Mehdi described Indian Muslims as 'sarkari Muslims' who were incapable of fighting against government forces. He believes deeply that beheading of enemy and making abducted women sex slaves is nothing wrong," official sources quoted the statement of the West Bengal-born youth.
The electrical engineer-turned-jihadi propagandist, who was running the twitter handle 'ShamiWitness', told interrogators that since 2009, he has been following the political developments in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan and became a IS sympathiser running a propaganda campaign for it.
Mehdi said he was not aware of anybody joining the IS and nor has he ever spoken to any fighter of the Islamic State with agencies now verifying those claims. He said that one of the three Mumbai youths who are still in Iraq-Syria is handling a pro-ISIS twitter handle and posting sympathetic tweets, sources said.
Mehdi was apparently very hassled 4-5 days prior to his arrest and reportedly spoke to his mother, telling her that he was not sure about his future. Britain's Channel 4 News had first aired the report regarding Mehdi's link with the twitter account that is followed by foreign jihadis.
Mehdi has been arrested under Sec 125 of the Indian Penal Code (whoever wages war against the government of any Asiatic power in alliance or at peace with the Government of India or attempts to wage such war, or abets the waging of such war), different sections of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Information Technology Act.