Indian Mujahideen, misuse of social media biggest threats: Intelligence Bureau chief Asif Ibrahim

Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief Asif Ibrahim has said the spread of Indian Mujahideen (IM) and use of social media to fan communal tension were the biggest threats to internal security.

"After the recent arrest of Yasin Bhatkal and Asadullah, we achieved some success in interdicting important members of IM. But the challenge remains as despite these arrests they executed the Patna blasts," said Asif Ibrahim, while addressing a three-day conference of Directors General of Police (DGPs) here yesterday.

On the issue of misuse of social media platforms, he gave the example of a video that was circulated in western Uttar Pradesh fuelling communal tension in areas around Muzaffarnagar.

Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has said the terror outfit Indian Mujahideen is responsible for three out of four terror attacks that have taken place in the country this year.

Addressing the conference of DGPs, Shinde said: “:India is facing multifarious challenges on the internal security front in the form of militancy in J&K, insurgency in some parts of the North East, the threat of Left Wing Extremism and terrorism in hinterland of the country.”

“Indian Mujahideen, which draws its motivation and sustenance from inimical forces operating from across the Western border has been responsible for 3 out of 4 major terrorist attacks in our hinterland this year,” he said.

“These include Hyderabad twin blasts and the series of blasts at Bodhgaya and Patna. Another blast that took place in Bangalore was the handiwork of some misguided fundamentalist youth and remnants of Al-Ummah,” he added.

Shinde further said he is happy to inform that all these cases have been successfully worked out.

“I compliment officers of Intelligence agencies and Police Forces for having made critical breakthroughs in this regard,” he added.

He further said: I would like to make a special mention of the apprehension of Yasin Bhatkal who was wanted in a large number of cases of bomb blasts in different parts of the country. Our security agencies have also arrested Abdul Karim also known as Tunda, a wanted terrorist in different bomb blast cases.”

“These arrests constitute a major breakthrough in our fight against the terrorism and demonstrate the resolve of the Government of India to bring to justice all those who commit crimes of terrorism in our country,” he added.

Asserting that it is important that the leads emanating from the investigations are vigorously pursued to apprehend all those associated with this network, Shinde said: “Our security forces have to remain constantly alert and act in a cohesive manner to deal with these challenges.”