Killing 55, Indian terrorist quits ISIS 'because no pay'

Rasa - Suspected of killing up to 55 people, the IS recruit from Greater Mumbai allegedly left because they didn’t pay enough, India’s media reported.

News ID: 1708

Date: 30 November 2014 - 15:08

RNA - An Islamic State recruit from Greater Mumbai was intercepted in Turkey, and then interrogated and arrested by India’s secret service. Suspected of killing up to 55 people, he allegedly left because they didn’t pay enough, India’s media reported.

India’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials have all arrived in Istanbul to take Kalyan city native Areeb Majeed into custody, Mid-Day quoted a senior airport official as saying.

Following an eight-hour interrogation, authorities took the suspect into NIA custody. Majeed appeared in court on Saturday, where the judge decided that he will remain in NIA custody until December 8.

There are conflicting reports as to how Majeed got to the Islamic State’s (IS, formerly ISIS or ISIL) camp in Iraq and what kind of attacks he was involved in.

“He is suspected to have killed around 55 people as part of ISIS and he returned because he was not paid by the terrorist group,” a senior IB official told Mid-Day.

Other media reports suggest the opposite. Citing other anonymous sources, the Hindustan Times said the IS allegedly gave Majeed $2,000 to cover treatment for injuries received during fighting in Iraq. If that is the truth, local authorities suspect that the Islamic State planned Majeed’s homecoming to India for some purpose.

“During combat, he was shot in the chest while a second bullet grazed him. When a medical facility where he was being treated was destroyed in an air raid, he crossed over to Turkey,” an unnamed central counter-terror officer said. Majeed then contacted his family to discuss his return home.

“We have reason to suspect what Majeed has told us so far. Not only was he given money by IS fighters, he was allowed to leave territory controlled by them. It is quite possible he may have contacted his father on their instructions. We need to verify and re-verify all his claims. That’s why the NIA was allowed to register a case against him,” the official said.

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