Recently we had reported how ISIS posed a real threat to India in the backdrop of the IED blast on-board the Bhopal Ujjain Express on 7th March, which many believe was a test attack carried out by an ISIS module based in Madhya Pradesh.
We had traced the genesis of ISIS in this country from Mumbai students joining ISIS, Twitter handler @ShamiWitness getting arrested to the flurrying of ISIS flags in J&K and a Himachal temple getting defaced with ISIS slogans.
Now new reports have emerged that suggest that the ISIS inspired Islamic terrorism is turning out to be a threat for both the Hindu and Muslim sects in the country.
As per Moinudheen Parakadavath, who is a vital link to an IS module consisting of 22 members which travelled to Afganisthan, the members of the terror group wished to target Hindu leaders, Ahmadiyya Mosques and the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind so as to “create ripples” in India. Both the Ahmadiyya sect and the Jammat-e-Islami Hind have condemned ISIS in the past.
Moinudheen revealed this information to the NIA and other central agencies. He was arrested by the NIA after his deportation from Abu Dhabi on 14th February.
He also revealed that secret online groups of ISIS which include one on the Telegram messaging service regularly discussed potential targets in India. Targets discussed included a Jewish temple in Kochi, and a Jamaat-e-Islami program with Rahul Eshwar as a speaker that took place in September 2016. This event had ended up getting shifted as agencies had intercepted a threat back then.
Moinudheen’s ISIS module isn’t alone when it comes to targeting Muslim sects in the country. The Ujjain train blast accused too has revealed to the authorities that their module wished to attack a dargah in Barabanki, the Bara Imambara in Lucknow and a leading Shia cleric. It should be noted that ISIS doesn’t consider Shias or Sufis as rightful Muslims, and recent attack on a Sufi shrine in Pakistan was an example of that.
Apart from punishing those who don’t agree with their brand of Islam, this plan of ISIS is clearly aimed at triggering internal disturbances in India. While Pakistan pretends to fight them back home, ironically they may extend support to ISIS for their activities on Indian soil, as this only helps the Pakistan’s policy of exploiting the “fault-lines” in the Indian society.
