Was the journalist, who was arrested for terror links a victim of systematic indoctrination? Police say terrorist organisations were looking at areas apart from engineering and medicine to plant their men or brainwash those who are already working there.
A senior police officer told Deccan Chronicle that four years ago, when police busted sleeper cell modules funded and operated by banned terrorist organisations in Hubli, the arrested had hinted at attempts to infiltrate media houses. “The arrested suspects had confessed that they were trying to infiltrate the media to gain easy access to government officers and because the profession can help save them in case something goes wrong. We feel Siddiqui is victim of such indoctrination by these terror groups,” the officer said.
The officer revealed that before joining the media house in Bengaluru, Siddiqui was working with an Islamic organisation in Hubli and often wrote press statements to newspapers. “It is possible that the terror outfits targeted him for his writing skills and must have brainwashed him. During previous investigations, the arrested have confessed to have been looking for probable candidate from Muslim Information Technology Association (MITA) and other associations,” the officer said.
The officer also hinted that terror modules are spreading their tentacles across the northern parts of the state, which lack security and attention of the government. “The close proximity and connection to three coastal points – Bhatkal, Mumbai and Goa - have made the work of terror outfits easy. These outfits provide financial assistance to module members in cash and also deposit some small amount in their accounts. They use local support for printing jihadi material and circulate among the probable candidates who could be turned into terrorists. These terror outfits are trying to model themselves on Israeli military training which is widely available on the internet,” the officer added.
Unfortunately, sleeper cells are not traced unless there is some destructive activity or any arrest. “It is very rare to catch members of sleeper cells if they are not up to something or if there is no intelligence input. It is when we arrest terror suspects that we can link other members of a cell,” said an investigating officer.