“Our ISIS operation is limited to Kerala”
DGP intelligence Mohammed Yasin, appointed last January when the ISIS radicalisation issue was already a hot topic in the state, talks to Jeemon Jacob about the threat in Kerala
Q. When did Kerala Police start monitoring ISIS activities? A. The internal security wing has been closely monitoring religious radicalisation by both Muslim and Hindu groups over the past few years. We intensified our efforts after 21 Kerala youths joined ISIS in Afghanistan. Our operation, huge considering our limited manpower and resources, has identified over a 1,000 probables. But so far we have found only a small segment aggressively inclined towards ISIS. Q. How serious are the threats from IS module operatives?
A. Nobody can estimate the magnitude of the threat, but it is serious and can affect communal harmony. Our strategy is two-pronged: constant vigil on ISIS operatives and informal channels to check deviant youth. Suspects have been identified and their parents informed. Some have realised their mistakes and their families are supportive. Conventional policing alone may not work, hence we have roped in religious leaders to convince youth about the risks involved.
Q. Can your efforts save these youths? A. Nobody can vouch for that. As police officers, we have to explore every possible solution to defuse a crisis. Right now, we are in trial and error mode. Our vigil continues, suspects are being monitored. We are fighting an invisible enemy. We have detailed mapping about their operations and have identified the key people and their network. The moment they break the law, they will be arrested.
Q. What strategies are you using in the fight against Islamist radicalisation?
A. We have designed different tools to check Islamic State modules in the state, based on the screening of around 1,000 people in the state. Interviews with them have revealed the modus operandi of radicalisation. We are now checking their funding sources. IS modules operating in the state have strong global links, especially in the Gulf region with its sizeable Malayali diaspora. ISIS is a global threat, our operation is limited to Kerala.
of ‘Operation Pigeon’, the state’s most comprehensive attempt to profile radical groups or persons linked to ISIS. It was given the goahead in May 2017 by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, nearly seven months after the Omar Al Hindi module was uncovered. The intelligence wing then fanned out to collect data, tapped mobile phones of suspects, monitored social media and shadowed radicals, meticulously tabulating the data and creating profiles. Field officials were directed to identify each person in their locality and profile them giving all details.
The secretive operation analysed a wealth of intelligence extracted from wiretaps, interrogations, messages on Instagram, Telegram and other social media feeds of nearly 450 suspects. The state police also relied on intelligence shared by the NIA, the nodal agency for ISIS-related cases, the Intelligence Bureau and R&AW. The list of suspects was finally whittled down to 60 people. If anyone on this hotlist attempts to leave Kerala, a senior intelligence official reveals, they will be charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), waging war against the state—which carries a maximum sentence of life in jail.
“The Islamic State module is a global threat without frontiers. Our operation, however, is limited to Kerala,” says B.S. Mohammed Yasin, DGP intelligence (see interview: “Our operation is limited to Kerala”). The state police claim that Operation Pigeon has been a big success and point to a case where Malayali youths were identified discussing plans to travel to Turkey. Their IP addresses were tracked down and parents briefed about their ISIS links. The boys have since been dissuaded.
Yet the operation has also had failures. The police failed to track Najeeb, the MTech student from Malappuram (his last known location was Hyderabad) and are still investigating two other missing cases, from Palakkad and Malappuram.
A senior intelligence official calls the 60 potential recruits they have under surveillance “hardcore and highly motivated”. “They don’t care about the risks involved... for them, jihad is a path to heaven,” says a senior intelligence official. Of course, there would be serious problems if the path to heaven involves creating mayhem in Kerala. The state has reason to fear a 26/11-style terrorist attack or even a Nice-style truck one. “The state is lucky not to have been tested by a terror attack,” admits a senior intelligence official. Even the task of keeping the 60 potentials under surveillance is stretching the already limited resources of field intelligence units. The state has just 35 intelligence officers as against a requirement of at least 100. The 133-man ‘Thunderbolt’ counter-terrorism force set up in 2012 is combing the northern districts of Wayanad and Malappuram in anti-Maoist operations. The state is yet to move on two proposals made in 2015 and 2016 to expand the Thunderbolts. A proposal made in March 2016 to tighten security in sensitive religious places where devotees and tourists flock in large numbers, like Guruvayur, Sabarimala and the Jewish synagogue in Mattancherry, Kochi—is also yet to be acted on. Complacency clearly is hobbling Kerala’s war on terror.
A SENIOR INTELLIGENCE OFFICIAL CALLS THE 60 POTENTIAL RECRUITS UNDER SURVEILLANCE “HARDCORE AND HIGHLY MOTIVATED”