IIT-Guwahati Student Who 'Pledged Allegiance To ISIS' Arrested Under UAPA In Assam

Touseef Ali Farooqui, a 4th-year student of Bioscience who hails from Delhi, was detained on Saturday. He was nabbed in Hajo area near Guwahati on Saturday.

A member of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) being produced before NIA court in Guwahati. ( Image Source :PTI )

An IIT-Guwahati student who had allegedly pledged allegiance to ISIS was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act on Sunday, a senior official said.

Touseef Ali Farooqui, a 4th-year student of Bioscience who hails from Delhi, was detained on Saturday. He was nabbed in Hajo area near Guwahati on Saturday.

Assam Police's Special Task Force (STF) Inspector General Parthasarathi Mahanta told PTI that after interrogating him, police found credible evidence of his links with ISIS and he was arrested.

"We produced him in the court, which has sent to police custody for 10 days. We also carried out a search in his hostel room inside the IIT-Guwahati campus," Mahanta said.

Farooqui was apprehended four days after ISIS India head Haris Farooqi alias Harish Ajmal Farukhi and his associate Anurag Singh alias Rehan were arrested in Dhubri district in Assam after they had crossed over from Bangladesh.

Farooqui was arrested under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, he added.

"Reference @IITGuwahati student pledging allegiance to ISIS - the said student has been detained while travelling and further lawful follow up would take place," Director General of Police GP Singh posted on X on Saturday. 

How The Incident Unfolded

Additional Superintendent of Police (STF) Kalyan Kumar Pathak said that after they received an email, the cops verified the authenticity of the contents and started an investigation. Farooqui also posted an open letter on LinkedIn about his wish to join ISIS.

The email was sent by Touseef Ali Farooqui in which he claimed that he was on his way to joining ISIS. The police then contacted the IIT-Guwahati authorities, who informed them that he had been missing since noon and his mobile phone was also switched off.

Touseef is a fourth-year student and hailed from Okhla in Delhi, the police added. A search was started to locate him and he was nabbed from Hajo area, around 30 km from Guwahati, on Saturday evening with the help of locals, the ASP said.

After initial questioning, he was brought to the STF office. "We are verifying the motive of the email," Pathak said.

A black flag, purportedly similar to that of ISIS, was found in his hostel room and was being sent for verification to specialised agencies which deal with proscribed outfits.

"We are going through the items seized, it is early to say much. We are investigating the intention of sending the email. The student has given some details, but we cannot disclose anything further now," Pathak added.