Indian escapes from ISIS trap

Mumbai/New Delhi: Arif Majeed, one of the four Kalyan youths who went to Iraq to fight in the Islamic State-led war in Iraq, returned to Mumbai early Friday morning.

This was after Arif had contacted his father from Turkey last week, where he fled to escape the violence, and pleaded to be brought back.

His return was arranged by Indian intelligence agencies, who are questioning him at an undisclosed Mumbai location on the circumstances that resulted in his getting radicalised and his stay in Iraq. He was formally placed under arrest by the NIA late on Friday.

“Arif landed by a Turkish Airlines flight around 5.15 am. We are happy he retu-rned and hope the remaining three boys too come back safely.

Our good wishes are with the Majeed family and as they finally got their son back,” said Kashif Tanki, uncle of Faheem Tanki, who is still believed to be in Iraq.

After landing, a team of NIA and IB officials whisked Arif away to a secret location where he is being questioned.

Sources said a team from Central intelligence agencies managed to bring Arif back from Turkey, from where he was accompanied by a team of senior security officials.

Arif had reportedly gone to Turkey to be treated for the bullet injuries he suffered while fighting for ISIS in Syria. Late on Friday evening, the home ministry directed the NIA to file a case against Arif under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and other IPC sections.