Areeb Majeed, the Kalyan youth who was among the first Indians to fight for Isis, has revealed to interrogators in Mumbai that AIMIM leader and Telagana MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi was among the people whose speeches influenced him.
Majeed and three of his friends from Kalyan, Mumbai, had fled to Iraq to join the Islamic State last May, but he was the only one to return to India and is currently lodged at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai.
Majeed's 76-page-long interrogation report reveals how he was radicalised to fight for Isis and how he survived several near-death experiences as a suicide bomber for the terror group.
Areeb Majeed said that he would listen to speeches of radical Muslim leaders such as Anjem Chaudhary and Saudi Arabia's Muhammed Al Arifi, and would also follow speeches by AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi.
Owaisi, the younger brother of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader and Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi, is known for his fiery and often controversial speeches, which are known to stoke communal tension between Muslims and Hindus.
"I used to listen to every speech of his," Areeb Majeed said about Owaisi Jr, according to The Indian Express.
He also said that e-books and mobile apps about Islam "had a great impact on me in developing my jihadi mindset".
Majeed's radicalisation to join Isis came about after he established contacts with 'recruiters' through social media.
Read: How ISIS Radicalised, Recruited Areeb Majeed and his Friends
The Islamic State is known for using social media forums such as Facebook and Twitter to spread its ideology and gain recruits and sympathisers.
Majeed flew to Iraq with his friends on the pretext of going on a religious pilgrimage and then entered Syria to join the terror group.
The Indian youths underwent training to become fighters, and Majeed was soon enlisted to become a suicide bomber.
He joined the Isis battle to seize the Mosul dam in Iraq, but his life was spared after the explosives-laden vehicle that he was supposed to drive was destroyed in an airstrike.
In another fighting, Majeed was hit by a bullet but survived.
Majeed's took the decision to return to his family in India after his family persuaded him.
"I was content that I did everything I can and now, I would like to return," Majeed reportedly told Isis' defence official in Raqqa, Syria, who gave him the permission to return.
He was arrested on his arrival at Mumbai on 27 November last year and has been charged with 'waging war against an Asiatic Power In Alliance With the Government of India'.
Since Majeed's return, at least 20 Indians are known to have travelled to Iraq and Syria to join Isis, while many have been detained as they attempted to leave the country.
Some Indians have also been deported from Gulf nations for supporting Isis on social media.
However, Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh has in the recent past dismissed Isis influence in India.
But India's 'soft policy' on Isis sympathisers in india may likely be overhauled in the light of the Paris terror attacks, according to reports.
