Twitter

IS Twitter handler

Mehdi Masroor Biswas

Direct Messaging mode

IP addresses

Withdrawal pangs of armchair jihadi

The IS propagandist tells interrogators that hundreds of men who followed him from across the world onsigned up to fight for IS. If proven, the cops feel they have a watertight case against himArrested, has begun to sing in the custody of Bengaluru police.Mehdi has opened up to reveal stunning information to city police regarding his tweets and their digital mission.Mehdi had told sleuths that hundreds of men, who followed him on Twitter, have joined IS. He also revealed that around 40 people who followed him on the social media site and eventually went to fight in IS ranks have died in wars in Iraq and Syria.Mehdi divulged this information during interrogation by the police team headed by Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Abhishek Goyal. Confirming that Mehdi has disclosed such vital information, Goyal told Bangalore Mirror , “The number could be higher. These people, who according to Mehdi died in the war, used to follow Mehdi on Twitter. During the questioning, he stated this to us. According to him, these people hailed from UK, some other Western nations, and Australia.’’Central Crime Branch sleuths who are questioning Mehdi are scanning every account that followed Mehdi on Twitter, either on the general platform or throughWe will have to go through each and every tweet and re-tweet his followers have exchanged with Mehdi. If he has influenced these people to join IS and then they later died in the conflict, it further complicates the case against him. He is in serious trouble, another investigator said.“At this point in time, police are scanning more than 1.3 million tweets, and 17,700 followers who were on Mehdi’s twitter list. They will have to complete this job in the next fortnight while Mehdi is in their custody. His police custody will end after 13 days. If need be, we will have to extend his custody from the magistrate once again,” the DCP adds.“A lot of information has still to come from Twitter like theof the people who followed him. What has been communicated in the form of Direct Messages is still with the Twitter. They have to give this to us. The Christmas vacation in the US where the twitter servers are located is a stumbling block for us. Most of their employees are not working till the new year. With all the problems, Twitter’s top-brass are cooperating with us. They are in contact with us regularly,” he said.Sources in the city police believe that Mehdi’s youth and in-depth knowledge about the ‘jihad’ in the region allowed him to ‘preach’ on Twitter convincingly.“The way this young man preaches, there is no surprise people followed him. He never said that he has not done anything, but he says that he was just a messenger who was passing information from one end to the other,” a senior police officer said. According to investigators only a few Indian followed Mehdi and a majority of them are from Kashmir. But, more than 90% of his followers are from the West of which hundreds have joined the IS.“Directly or indirectly he has helped IS and he was doing so till the minute he was arrested” the officer added.