IB monitoring online terror, probing Mehdi Twitter account Hyderabad, December 16: Social media has become the most influential tool for terror groups to spread their wings and recruit easily influenced youths to fill up their ranks. The detention of Mehdi Masroor Biswas, Bengaluru-based executive for allegedly putting out material supporting terror group Islamic State (IS) on the internet has alerted intelligence agencies to the threat of virtual jihad. There are almost 30,000 such Twitter handles and other social media forums that are spewing venom - and not much can be done to monitor all of them and act in time, said the sources. Paradoxically, it is Biswas Twitter handle @shamiwitness that is now the most desired or intended tool for investigators to dig out more information on him. As per the sources, the investigators have asked Twitter to keep Biswa’s account partially active to get leads by scrutinizing his followers, tweets, video and images uploads to broaden the scope of the investigation. Yes, Biswas Twitter handle is disabled sometimes and reactivated at other times. Some tweets show up on the handle as a few of his followers keep tagging him in their tweets, said a senior officer, who is part of the investigation team. Some other Twitter accounts are under the scanner along with @shamiwitness and intelligence official has kept a close watch on their activities in the cyber space. Pro-jihadist chatter is now being monitored aggressively by Indian agencies as they watch and wait for more breakthroughs. More than 60 % of his twitter account followers were non-Muslims and are from the western countries and a majority of his Muslim followers were from the western countries, particularly the UK. Indian intelligence agencies through the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERTIN) approached Twitter to seek information from his Twitter account to seek more details regarding ShamiWitness which are crucial to investigation. Biswas described Indian Muslims as sarkari Muslims who were incapable of fighting against government forces, said the sources. Biswas, 24 and an engineer hailing from middle class family inWest Bengal, has been working as a manufacturing executive with ITC Foods here since 2012. Biswas’s father was an employee of the West Bengal State Electricity Board. Mehdi was arrested under Sec 125 of IPC (for waging war against the government of any Asiatic power in alliance or at peace with the Government of India or attempting to wage such war, or abetting the waging of such war), different sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Information Technology Act.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 14:19:13 +0000
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