Hyderabad: Former Google employee held for trying to join ISIS

Hyderabad: A 30-year-old former Google employee, who was allegedly plotting to join the Islamic State (ISIS) ranks in Iraq, has been detained by Hyderabad Police. Software engineer Munawad Salman, hailing from Tamil Nadu, got attracted to jihadist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) through social media networks and had planned to join its forces, a senior police officer said on Wednesday.

Salman, who had worked at the Hyderabad office of technology giant Google before quitting his job around seven months back, was picked up on Tuesday following inputs that he was making efforts to procure a visa to Saudi Arabia from where he allegedly planned to flee to Iraq, he said.

He reportedly studied posts of the ISIS and their propaganda on the internet and social media platforms for past six months and had planned to join the group's fighters in Iraq.

"Salman was picked up yesterday and he was bound over also. We have counselled him through his parents and his brother to keep up good behaviour. He was asked to keep away from indulging in those activities. Now he has been let off. We have not registered any case," a senior intelligence officer told PTI.

"He has been asked to desist from such things, and if he is found indulging in such activities again, a specific case will be booked and he will be arrested," he said.

"After quitting his work at Google, he is jobless. He was planning to go out of the country and trying for a visa. He is from Tamil Nadu and for job purpose he came to Hyderabad," the officer said.

The Hyderabad Police had in August "foiled" an alleged attempt by a group of four young men from the city, including two engineers, to join the rank of ISIS after they were tracked down to Kolkata from where they were allegedly preparing to flee to Iraq.

The youth, who were "attracted" towards the ISIS propaganda on social networking sites and net-based mobile messenger, were questioned and let off after counselling.

The Hyderabad Police had on October 22 arrested a suspected SIMI operative and an aide of Indian Mujahideen media in-charge (both youth from Maharashtra) from Secunderabad. They were allegedly planning to go to Afghanistan to get training from militant organisation Al Qaeda for carrying out terror activities in India, police had earlier said.