16 year old Muslim Pune Girl wanted to join ISIS, Arrested

The Pune Anti-Terrorism Squad had been monitoring her online conversations over the last few months since she had started searching about ISIS over the web. “The platform was used to brainwash the members as well as keep them updated about happenings in their lives”, an official from the agency said. Technical investigations and contacts helped the ATS identify the girl, a Class XI science student in a city-based college.

The Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) arrested a 16-year-old college girl from Pune, who was allegedly in touch with arrested Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) executive Mohammed Sirajuddin, has been put under surveillance for her suspected links with the Islamic State (IS).

Police said she was in touch with another sympathiser who was arrested in Jaipur last week, and was planning a trip to Syria believing the militant group would bear her expenses.

“We have stored the girl under surveillance and efforts are on to de-radicalize her”, a TOI report quoted the police officer as saying. “The interrogation of the girl revealed that she was ready to go to any extent to carry out the ISIS directive”.

Sirajuddin had created a group of IS sympathizers on Facebook and WhatsApp, which he used to spread the ideals of the terrorist group. Her family noticed this and was quite disturbed as she belongs to a well-to-do background and has studied in a Convent school. “Her interrogation revealed that she was told to come to Syria for medical education and for further initiation”, Barge said. “The group that they interacted with has 200 members from UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, England and Indian states like Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir and Karnataka between the ages of 15 to 35”. Gradually, she came in contact with a person from Sri Lanka and several others from other countries on Facebook, Twitter, Telegram and through emails.

The girl who is 16 years old is now part of a deradicalisation programme in which police officials and elders from the Muslim community are involved. “We got a wellknown maulana to talk to her about the real teachings of Quran and Islam”.

Mr Barge said the de-radicalisation programme of the ATS with the help of community clergy and family members was “working” for the girl with encouraging results.