How this de-radicalisation programme by ATS is changing those who came under ISIS influence
Mumbai, Feb 11: Jamil Ansari (name changed) runs a mobile phone repair shop in Maharashtra's Beed district.
But, nobody would imagine that only two years ago, he was on the verge of joining the dreaded terror outfit ISIS by travelling to Iraq, thousands of kilometres away.
Thanks to an initiative of the Maharashtra Anti- Terrorism Squad (ATS), Ansari changed his mind and underwent an employment training programme after escaping clutches of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria's (ISIS) online 'recruiters' who had almost radicalised him.
He is not the only one.
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There are many such young men in Maharashtra, mainly in the industrially backward Marathwada region, who had once fallen victim to ISIS' propaganda but are now leading a normal life with the help of the employment training programme, a senior ATS official told PTI.
Ansari, a 35-year-old graduate, lost his job as a salesman in 2016 and began spending a lot of time surfing online, where he came in contact with some ISIS sympathisers and soon got radicalised.
"His online activities brought him under our scanner," the official said.
The ATS sleuths realised that Ansari had become a victim of ISIS propaganda and he was counselled in a bid to de-radicalise him, he said.
The
official
said
the
ATS
runs
a
de-radicalisation
programme
for
such
people
to
once
again
join
the
mainstream
with
the
help
of
religious
leaders
and
clerics.
But
the
real
problem
was
that
Ansari
had
no
job,
and
there
were
many
more
like
him,
he
said.
In Marathwada, the ATS in the last two years identified as many as 400 young men who were suspectedly under the influence of ISIS.
In all the cases, the recruiter started chatting with his target about "atrocities" on Muslims in India to gauge the person's views, the official said.
After the person was successfully radicalised, he would be taught how to make Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) or other weapons, he said, adding that some were also encouraged to join the ISIS in Iraq, where the militant outfit once controlled large swaps of territory.
Notably, the ATS last month arrested nine men from Aurangabad and Thane districts for allegedly planning chemical attacks with an intent to cause mass casualty at public events by contaminating food and water, he pointed out.
In 2018, the ATS had arrested a 36-year-old man from Parbhani district who came in contact with ISIS and received instructions on how to make IEDs.
He made bombs and even carried out trials, the official said, adding that he was arrested along with four others before he could use the IED for a terrorist act.
ATS chief Atulchandra Kulkarni said they realised that unemployment was one of the major reasons for such men from the Muslim community most of whom were from Marathwada -- getting radicalised online and falling into ISIS' trap.
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"The challenge was to bring these people back to normal life, and we found a solution in the Rural Self-Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs), run by the Union rural development ministry," said Kulkarni.
As
many
as
239
such
men
were
imparted
training
at
these
institutes
last
year.
Besides,
the
anti-terror
cells
formed
at
police
station-levels
identified
15
men
who
were
also
trained
in
self-employment,
another
police
official
said.
Thirty such men secured bank loans after undergoing training and started their own businesses, Kulkarni said.
Appreciating the initiative, RSETI authorities agreed to train the candidates short-listed by ATS on a priority basis.
The
ATS
also
approached
the
Syndicate
Bank
and
the
Bank
of
Maharashtra,
which
agreed
to
offer
loans
to
the
short-listed
men
after
they
underwent
training,
he
said.
The
initiative
began
with
some
270
young
men,
who
were
trained
in
mobile
phone
repairing.
Another
batch
is
now
receiving
training
in
fitting
electric
wires,
a
police
official
said.
Ansari
is
one
of
the
examples
of
this
initiative's
success.
After being imparted counselling, he was recommended for a short training course in mobile repairing at an RSETI, he added.
Now, he runs a small mobile repair shop of his own, far away from Iraq.