The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) is planning to crack down on ISIS sympathisers who are sharing propaganda material in Maharashtra on the Internet to further the Caliphate movement. The ATS said that this year there has been a rise in the number of websites spreading ISIS propaganda and, in order to curb the radical indoctrination on the Internet to create lone wolves, it is planning to crack down on those persons who are spreading the cause of ISIS in Maharashtra.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a senior Maharashtra ATS official said, “There are many people who read ISIS’s content. Some accidentally reach its website, some read out of curiosity. There are others who sympathise with ISIS, but the ones that are spreading the message of the group by spreading its propaganda on the Internet are definitely violating the law. They can be booked under the IT Act. We are also contemplating whether or not we can book them under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.”
Apart from the cyber cell of the Mumbai crime branch, there is a special cyber cell of the Maharashtra ATS. Both cells on a daily basis keep a tab on the online content being uploaded by ISIS operatives across the globe. “Around 60 to 80 online websites that have ISIS propaganda have been blocked by us this year. This number has risen by a big margin as compared to last year. New websites keep cropping up, but we are doing our best,” said the senior ATS official. Lately, the ISIS has come out with an e-book, which explains its cause. The senior ATS official said, “There is nothing new in it. It is similar to other ISIS propaganda material.”
Maulana Moinuddin Ashraf from Mumbai said, “We should not call them ISIS but NISIS i.e. Non-Islamic State of Iran and Syria. If I claim to be the president of the US, will people call me Mr. US President They (ISIS) are against Islam and against humanity. We are working on a large-scale to stop emotional and gullible youngsters from falling prey to NISIS. All maulanas of masjids are condemning NISIS. They NISIS is fighting over land and are killing innocents. There is a lot of anger in Muslims because of NISIS, as they are maligning our religion.”
