An arrest has been made by Indian police of a young Bangalore resident by the name of Mehdi Masroor Biswas. The pro-ISIS account was tracked down after a Channel 4 investigation and which led to the arrest of the young Indian national. He is in the process of being interviewed by 3 Indian intelligence agencies.
The arrest came about after Channel 4 linked the @Shamiwitness account to an e-mail address which was then used to set up a further Twitter handle, @ElSaltador.
Biswas is from the Eastern City of Kolkata (Calcutta) and stated in the Channel 4 interview that he would have gone to the Islamic State, though he did not do so since his family were financially dependent on him. He also mentioned that he believed that his life was at risk.
He stated, “If I had the chance to leave everything and join them, I might have….my family needs me here.”
The @Shamiwitness account was seen as providing emotional and psychological support to ISIS sympathisers and also spoke to British Jihadis before they left for Iraq or Syria.
Given the formality and bureaucracy of the Indian Justice system, it may be some years before Mehdi is brought to court, if he is charged.
