ISIS Twitter account handler remanded to 5 days police custody

Bengaluru, Dec 14: The alleged handler of the most influential pro-Islamic State (IS) Twitter account Mehdi Masroor Biswas has been remanded to five-day police custody.

"Bengaluru CCB Police has got five days police remand of Mehdi Masroor Biswas. He was presented before the Magistrate last night," DCP Crime Abhishek Goyal said.

Police had yesterday said that 24-year-old Biswas has "confessed" that he was handling the pro-jihad tweeter "@ShamiWitness" that became a source of incitement and information for new ISIS recruits.

He has been arrested under Sec 125 of IPC (whoever wages war against the Government of any Asiatic power in alliance or at peace with the Government of India or attempts to wage such war, or abets the waging of such war), Sections 18 and 39 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Section 66 of the Information Technology act, they had said. Meanwhile, Goyal has received a threat message in reply to his tweet about the arrest of Biswas.

"@goyal_abhei we will not leave our brothers in your hand Revenge is coming wait for our reaction," reads a reply from twitter handle @abouanfal6. Responding to the threat, Goyal said he is not taking it much seriously.

"Personally I'm not taking the threat much seriously.... taking it in stride and not much alarmed," he said.

On the basis of "credible" intelligence inputs received on the presence of ISIS Twitter Ideologue @ShamiWitness in Bengaluru, the city police chief had formed a special team, which closed in on Biswas and arrested him from a rented one room apartment yesterday.

Bengaluru Police had launched a manhunt for Mehdi after Britain's Channel 4 News had aired the report regarding the country's IT capital's link with the Twitter account that is followed by foreign jihadis.

PTI