PTI
GUWAHATI, NOVEMBER 17
The Centre has issued advisory to the Assam government about possibility of attacks by ISIS (Islamic State) in the state that has for long been tagged as a hotbed of jihadi elements because of its proximity to Bangladesh and presence of several militant outfits.
The central advisory also includes instructions to train police personnel in fighting the unseen enemy in the virtual web world. “We have been asked to train our personnel in handling the ISIS threat. Our training module will start very soon and it largely focus on fighting the battles in the social media,” a senior police official said.
State home commissioner and secretary LS Changson said that apart from the centre’s advisory the state on its own has been taking several precautionary measures against possible attempts by jihadi forces.“The centre has issued an advisory and a reminder as well warning about possibilities of ISIS attacks. We are working constantly to keep of not just ISIS but activities of all jihadi forces. We have identified possible targets of jihadi forces and have taken stringent preventive measures,” the home secretary and commissioner said.
The Assam Police headquarters had earlier expressed worry over growth of people’s interest in ISIS in social media in the state. So far there is no record of any person from the state joining ISIS.
According to the police, the number of visitors in the ISIS related websites from the state is on the higher side like that in Jammu and Kashmir, which has made security agencies to believe that this is more than just curiosity. The National Technical Research Organization (NTRO) is monitoring the social media.
Apart from the threat from ISIS, recently the police have arrested 24 members of the Jamaat-ul Mujahideen, Bangladesh (JMB), including those who were involved in the Burdwan blast in West Bengal last year.
