Probe into the mysterious disappearance of a Mulund youth suspected to have been radicalised online has revealed he had flown to Abu Dhabi.
The youth had called up his family on Thursday morning on WhatsApp and told them he was in Delhi for some business and would return home soon.
According to the police, Jadgish Parihar, 23, had left home around 1.30 pm on Tuesday, informing his family he was going to Mumbai University to fill up some forms for the last year of the B. Com course he was pursuing. He did not return home.
His family runs an optician's store in Mulund.
"As per the family, Parihar called them stating on Tuesday he was unhappy with Hinduism and wished to join Islam. He told his family he did not wish to return home. Sensing something amiss, Parihar's family approached us," said a Mulund police officer.
The family told the police Parihar used to chat with a woman which they suspected was a Muslim. The family also suspects Parihar was indoctrinated online.
"He deleted his social media accounts and formatted his computer before leaving. Parihar's last cellphone location was Mumbai's international airport. After checking in with immigration authorities, we learnt that he left for Abu Dhabi on a three-month tourist visa," said a police officer privy to the details.
The police and the Anti-Terrorism Squad are trying to find out if Parihar's visit to Abu Dhabi was pre-planned, or if it was sponsored by someone.
"On Thursday morning Parihar called up his brother on WhatsApp and said he was in Delhi for some work purpose and would return in a few months. He also spoke to his parents too," said a police source.
ATS SAYS
- 70 youths including women de-radicalised over past few years
- They were all educated, yet they were brainwashed
- In past 15 months, over 400 suspect websites, URLs and Twitter accounts blocked
