PANAJI: The two persons arrested by the Panaji police over suspected terror links are clean and have no links to any terrorist outfit, North Goa Superintendent of Police Umesh Gaonkar has said.
Abdul Nashir and his brother-in-law Elais Esmile were arrested (preventive) by the police at Dona Paula on Monday evening. Both were released after they were produced before the Sub Divisional Magistrate, Panaji.
Nashir is from Kasargod in Kerala while Esmile is staying in Margao since the last several years. Police said both are associated with the Salafi movement.
Nashir was carrying a pamphlet, which had ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) written on it in bold letters and that was the sole reason for both the youth coming under the suspicion of terror links. “While ISIS was written in bold letters in English, the remaining matter on the pamphlet was written in Kannada language, which the locals could not understand,” said Gaonkar.
Both the youth, along with their families, had been to Dona Paula for sightseeing. “Nashir and Esmile were intercepted by locals and soon the police were alerted,” said Gaonkar complimenting public for being alert and sensitive.
“They were talking about a Muslim organisation. At first, they did not say clearly what the facts were. Later they explained to us that the matter written on the pamphlets was against ISIS, and its condemnation,” said Gaonkar. He said, “However, we had to verify it beyond doubt, as ISIS is a terrorist outfit and we all know what is happening around the world.”
Initially, the police took the help of a person working at a tea stall in the city to decode the matter written in Kannada. However, an Intelligence Bureau (IB) official later got the translation done through his counterparts. The matter on the pamphlet was against ISIS and basically to spread awareness against it, especially among the youth, asking them not to join or associate with such an organisation.
“Different teams from Goa police such as ATS, local intelligence and also a team from IB jointly interrogated the two,” said Gaonkar. “After a thorough inquiry and verification, finally everything was clear and there is no suspicion. The pamphlets were pertaining to ‘the miracle,’ an exhibition on Islam, to be held from January 9 to January 15 in Mangalore. Both are associated with a religious movement and the pamphlets were meant for the purpose of awareness,” said Gaonkar.
