IB vs ISIS: How the language barrier is being broken

New Delhi, Oct 26: Jihad Cool was a catch line that caught the attention of several youth from Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. Jihad was being marketed by terror organizations and this phrase coined by them instantly ensured that scores of youth began browsing material posted by the ISIS and the al-Qaeda.

The catch phrase Jihad Cool is something that we come across every single minute as we track sympathizers and possible recruits of the ISIS says an Intelligence Bureau official.

We may have successfully managed to contain several persons from going outside, but it is an ongoing battle and there is a need for more public participation in order to keep a thorough track on the activities of such persons, the officer informed OneIndia.

The IB has told the Home Ministry that there is an urgent need for more spies who can speak with local language and this is a proposal that is likely to be cleared soon.

State specific spies:
Terror groups have set up people who carry out the radicalization process. They have picked persons who can speak multiple languages. For instance a person dealing with a possible recruit in Kerala will speak with him only in Malayalam and in the case of Telangana it would be Telugu.

The IB has had some set backs on this front as many are not well versed in reading Malayalam or Telugu and this has acted as a deterrent in some cases.

The IB says that they need more spies who are well versed with multiple languages. We need persons who can read languages in quick time. Sometimes a conversation between a recruiter and a recruit lasts less than 5 minutes and they delete the conversation.

In such cases, a person who can read the local language in quick time is the need of the hour, the officer added. The IB has however said that the areas where they need the most number of officers is in Kerala and Telangana. Most of the person we have seen conversing in these states are in the local language.

Seeking public help:
The last time around public help was sought, it did not generate any major result. There are some opinionated persons on the internet who will report everything and anything. This time around we want professionals who understand the nature of the problem and are able to track and trace conversations apart from understanding the language.

The help of NGOs will be sought and only after a thorough verification process will persons be roped in. The persons part of this programme would have to be well versed in the local language, the geography of the place so that quick time intelligence can be shared.

The geographical knowledge too is very key as they should be able to tell us exactly about the place so that instructions can be issued immediately to the jurisdicational police station.

OneIndia News