How 'Operation Pigeon' prevented Kerala Muslims from joining ISIS

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

"Operation Pigeon." This is the name given to an operation that is being carried out by the Kerala police, Central Intelligence Bureau and the National Investigating Agency to prevent the youth of Kerala from joining the Islamic State.

The operation was launched following the incident in which over 20 youth slipped out of Kerala and joined the IS in Afghanistan. This incident caused a great amount of concern among the security agencies who then went on to form a special squad to stop the menace.

Under Operation Pigeon, the first step was to gain control over the social media. The officers scanned thousands of accounts of those persons who were showing interest in joining the ISIS or any other terrorist group. The team focused largely in and around Kasargod.

The team then met with community elders and parent of the youth. The parents and the elders were very responsive, officials said. One officer part of the operation informed OneIndia that these youth who were identified as vulnerable were counselled by the elders, parents and the police. The session on counselling was overseen by the team comprising the Intelligence Bureau and the National Investigating Agency.

An NIA official said that it was important that the elders in the community were not offended. A team of specially trained officers were deputed for this operation to ensure that the process went on smoothly.

OneIndia News