Bengaluru: Pro-ISIS Twitter account suspect Biswas arrested, say reports

Bengaluru, Dec 13: The alleged handler of the pro-ISIS Twitter account has been arrested, according to a senior police official in Bengaluru.

"He is with us," the official said, confirming the arrest of the pro-jihad tweeter "@ShamiWitness" who had been anonymously operating the account as "Mehdi".

The development comes after intelligence agencies in India rubbished a report by British media, which claimed that the man behind pro-ISIS twitter handler was based in Bengaluru.

Meanwhile, Mekail Biswas, a man claiming to be the father of 'Mehdi' Masroor Biswas told media on Saturday that his son was not in any way linked to the militant group.

Mekail added that his son's name is Masroor Biswas, contradicting earlier reports that suggested that the name might be a pseudonym, and confirmed that his son was managing the @ShamiWitness Twitter account.

Mekail, a homeopathy doctor in Kolkata, said that his son had been working in Bangaluru for ITC, a conglomerate with interests in sectors ranging from hospitality to consumer goods to IT since June 2012. ITC could not be reached for comment at the time of publication.

The Indian Express, a national daily, reported on Saturday that Masroor Biswas, identified by UK's Channel 4 as œMehdi,  the man behind the @ShamiWitness Twitter account graduated with a degree in engineering from a Kolkata college.

The Times of India reported earlier on Saturday morning that Bangaluru police had detained one man as part of their investigation into Biswas' links to the pro-ISIS Twitter account.

Britain's Channel 4 News had aired the report regarding the country's IT capital's link with the Twitter account that is followed by foreign extremists. The British news broadcaster did not reveal his full name as he said his life would be in danger.

In its report, 'Channel 4' yesterday said that the man operating the account is an executive in the city working for an Indian conglomerate and had been able to remain anonymous "until now" and avoiding questions about his role in the Islamic State's propaganda war.

Channel 4 News had said its investigation had however revealed that the man operating the account is called Mehdi and he is an executive in Bangalore working for an Indian conglomerate.

"His tweets, written under the name Shami Witness, were seen two million times each month, making him perhaps the most influential Islamic State Twitter account, with over 17,700 followers," it said.

Bangaluru Police Commissioner M N Reddi had said they have asked the crime branch to look into the veracity of the report and were in contact with central agencies like NIA and IB.