india

Updated: Oct 30, 2014 00:51 IST

The Hyderabad Police detained a former Google employee, suspecting him of plotting to join the extremist group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), officials said on Wednesday.

Munawad Salman, 30, was a software engineer with Google in Hyderabad until he quit his job seven months ago and was allegedly “attracted” to the jihadist group through social media networks and planned to join its forces, a senior police official said.

Police said they tracked Salman’s browsing habits and chats that established his interest in the terror group and picked him up on Tuesday following a tip-off that he was trying to procure a visa to Saudi Arabia from where he planned to flee to Iraq.

The police did not arrest Salman, but let him go after questioning and counselling.

“His is a borderline case, meaning his interest in the terror network might not go beyond the limits (to actually becoming a terrorist). Anyhow, we are keeping a close watch on him,” a top city police official told HT.

The official added that terror literature has become easily available in the internet age, making it easy for people to access it. “We cannot restrict people’s browsing habits,” he said.

Hyderabad has been a victim of terror attacks like the Dilsukhnagar bomb blasts in 2013 as well as a fertile ground for recruitment of terrorists, which keeps the city police on their toes. “The city is as vulnerable and as much a breeding ground (for terrorists) as any other place now,” an official said.

(With agency inputs)