A resident of Navi Mumbai has taken to social media expressing his willingness to join the Islamic State either as a 'spokesperson or as a journalist'. The Yakub Memon sympathiser has also said he is ready to give up his Indian citizenship to offer services to the 'caliphate'.
The man, identified as Zuber Ahmed Khan, addressed his Facebook post dated 29 July to Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: "A message for Caliphate Baghdadi, I wish to join Islamic State as a Government spokesperson or government journalist."
Khan further added details of his educational qualifications.
"I have done a research on the wrongs being done to the Muslim citizens of India by the Indian government, police and Hindu terrorists... I'm willing to renounce my Indian citizenship if I'm selected for Islamic State..." he wrote further.
.@PMOIndia @narendramodi @BJPRajnathSingh pl take cognizance of this post This man cn be dangerous fr India. RT rqstd pic.twitter.com/1YXTDGAIt0
— Anshul Bhartiya (@anshulbhartiya) July 31, 2015
The Mumbai Crime Branch started a manhunt for Khan, who also openly admired Yakub Memon, the Mumbai blasts convict who was hanged on 30 July. Khan had called Memon a martyr in another Facebook post.
The police launched an investigation after a social media user alerted them about Khan's posts. The police traced him to Bandra and went to arrest him on Tuesday afternoon. But by the time the police arrived, Khan had fled from the spot, Hindustan Times reports.
On 1 August, Khan wrote yet another post, in which he informed his "friends" that he will take the Rajdhani Express on Tuesday and travel to Delhi. There he will visit the Iraqi embassy and submit his "memorandum to Caliphate Baghdadi" along with his certificates for his appointment either as "spokesperson for foreign affairs" or "government journalist" in the Islamic State.
He further wrote that he would stay in Delhi for five days, during which he will visit the Embassy of Pakistan where he will "expedite his Visa request" and collect "information on Muslims and development after the death of Shaheed Yakub Memon".
Khan goes by the name 'Zuber Ahmed Khan Journalist' on Facebook, where he claims to be the editor-in-chief at 'International Peace'. He also claims to have studied in Sikkim Manipal University.
His Facebook profile has been removed, but his posts are being shared on social media platforms. The police deleted several of the posts containing Khan's provocative messages but couldn't remove all of them as those have gone viral.
"The suspect's posts went viral on Facebook and Twitter. A few people even forwarded them to the Twitter handle of the prime minister's office and the Facebook page of home minister Rajnath Singh," a police official told HT on condition of anonymity.
