Kalyan youth, who joined ISIS, sent to NIA custody till Dec 8

The 23-year-old Kalyan youth, who had allegedly joined the terror group IS and was arrested after his return to Mumbai, was sent by court to NIA custody till December 8.

Mumbai: The 23-year-old Kalyan youth, who had allegedly joined the terror group Islamic State (IS) and was arrested after his return to Mumbai, was sent by court to National Investigation Agency (NIA) custody till December 8.

A special NIA court observed that his custodial interrogation was necessary.

The NIA today told the court that they want to unearth the entire conspiracy from Majeed's 'recruitment' to the role played by him in the 'war' (for an Islamic state).

The agency also told special NIA judge P R Deshmukh that three other youths, who had joined the UN banned terror outfit, along with Majeed are shown as wanted in the case.

"We also want to investigate the kind of training that Majeed was imparted before joining the ISIS forces," NIA's prosecutor told the court.

In the court, when asked by the judge, Majeed told his name and replied in the negative when asked whether he had any complainants against the NIA.

During interrogation, Arif Majeed had reportedly claimed that a contact from Internet helped him reached Mosul.

The revelation was made by Arif Majeed during his interrogation by the NIA on Saturday, as per a news channel report.

After Majeed's statement, the NIA is now probing the recruitment in India by the terror outfit.

A case under sections of Unlawful Assembly Prevention Act (UAPA) and section 125 of IPC which deals with waging war against any Asiatic country which has friendly ties with India, was registered against ISIS, Majeed and other three other youngsters.

Majeed had left his home around six months ago to join the terror outfit in Syria was believed to have been killed while fighting for the Islamic State.

He was arrested shortly after his return yesterday morning and appeared to have been “highly radicalized.”

Arif was made to undergo a medical test and was quizzed by the by the NIA and Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS).

Three other youths from Kalyan - Shaheen Tanki, Fahad Shaikh and Aman Tandel - had also left Mumbai in May this year to visit holy places in the West Asia but disappeared soon after.

According to the police, the four engineering students flew to Baghdad on May 23 as part of a group of 22 pilgrims to visit religious shrines in Iraq.

The next day, Arif had called his family from Baghdad and apologised for having left without informing them.

Upon returning to India, other pilgrims had told police that Arif, Fahad, Aman and Shaheen had hired a taxi to Fallujah, a city west of Baghdad which had emerged as the epicentre of Iraq's deadly insurgency.

"On August 26, Shaheen Tanki called up Arif's family and told them that their son had become a 'martyr' claiming that the latter died fighting for ISIS in Syria," a family friend Ateek Khan had told reporters.

Accordingly the next day, Arif's family performed 'Janaza-e-gayabana' (prayers for the departed soul in absence of the body) in Kalyan.

Recently, Arif's father Ejaz Majeed had reportedly met the NIA and told them his son had fled from the IS-controlled areas to Turkey after fighting for the militant group for nearly three months and wants to return to India.  

(With PTI Inputs)