Mumbra: Alleged ISIS recruiter arrested in pre-dawn raid

THANE: Alleged IS recruiter Nazim Ahmed (26), arrested in a pre-dawn raid in Mumbra on Thursday, was engaged in reaching out to the “young and restless“ in the minority-dominated township, said officials who were part of the action.Ahmed shared his rented 1BHK apartment in a nondescript seven-storey building, Akram Apartment, in Mumbra's Rashid Compound with two aides. While the ATS called him an IS ( Islamic State ) recruiter, neighbours said he is a recluse, who avoided people and restricted himself to his apartment for the better part of the day . “He kept to himself and walked silently , head down, in the building's corridors and verandahs.There was never a friendly smile or a `dua salam' from him to anyone. He never looked anyone in the eye and gave an impression of a very shy person,“ said Anis K, a youngster living in the next building.A resident of Ahmed's Akram Apartment said, “I often saw him pass by. He would carry a stock of candies, which he would sell to children. God knows what he did behind closed doors. I never thought he could be linked to the IS. I hope he didn't indoctrinate youngsters here.“It is learnt that Ahmed's activities were being tracked for several months before the police decided to flush him out of his hideout. Nothing was left to chance and adequate care was taken to ensure that no suspicions were aroused about police movements.Locals said power supply to buildings in Rashid Compound was snapped for over two hours around 3am on Thursday before armed teams moved in to grab their target.News about the swift operation reverberated in the area in the morning as news channels and OB vans descended upon the locality .Almost no one knew of Ahmed, but later recalled that he shared his room with one Gulfam Ansari, who sold eggs.Ansari's family had apparently moved out. There was another person who shared the room, but whose identity cannot yet be ascertained, said some sources.“We don't know what connection the trio had or if there activities were related, or if they were just good friends. It's all still a mystery ,“ said a neighbour.“ATS is investigating the case and nothing can be said as of now,“ said Thane's police commissioner Param Bir Singh.