NEW DELHI: The government may not press serious charges against the Indian youths who joined the jehadi group Islamic State (IS) in Iraq but now want to return home.



Intelligence agencies have gathered information that the four youths from Kalyan near Mumbai have been in touch with their families to return as they are being exploited in Iraq.



Sources said the agencies have approached the families and assured them that the youths will not be harassed on their return.



“A soft approach needs to be taken while dealing with them to ensure that they come back. On their return, they should be rehabilitated,” a government official said.



Sources said these youths are not hardcore terrorists or jihadis, and it seems they were attracted by internet propaganda and decided to join the outfit.



“They are not trained or indoctrinated. They have been misled,” an official says.



The four youths have been identified as Areeb, Aman Naeem Tandel, Fahad Tanvir Shaikh and Sahim Farooq Tanki.



Areeb’s father met the NIA officers in Mumbai and informed them that his son wants to come back.



As the government is working on a plan to facilitate the return of those fighting for the Islamic State, the strategy to counter radicalisation and foil attempts of the IS to attract youth tops the agenda of the police DGs conference later this month.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh will attend the conference scheduled in Guwahati on November 29 and 30. There is a view that if these youths can return and tell their horror tales, it will counter the propaganda of the Islamic State and create awareness.



One of the four youths has fled to Turkey and the other three are still in Southern Iraq where the IS has a stronghold.



Intelligence agencies have managed to get phone intercepts where the youths are heard crying and asking their families to seek the government’s help for their return.



The government is already in touch with the authorities in Turkey to ensure the safe return of one of the youths who is said to be there, but officials say that getting the other three back is not easy.



“If they manage to get out of IS territory, we can facilitate their return,” the official adds.



The NIA had sought permission from the Union Home Ministry to register a case against the IS. Later, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) had recommended a ban on the terror group active in Iraq and Syria after gathering inputs that it was making efforts to recruit Indian youths and then use them to carry out attacks across the country.



The government has been reluctant to take any action against the Islamic State, fearing that it could lead to a backlash against 39 Indians who are still in its captivity.



Under the leadership of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the militant group has been running a reign of terror in Iraq and Syria to establish a Caliphate and making its commander the supreme Muslim leader world over.































































