A jihadist recruit from Greater Mumbai reportedly returned to his home country after quitting from ISIS, claiming that the group did not pay him enough.
The Indian jihadist named Areeb Majeed was intercepted by the intelligence officers from his country while he was en route home from Turkey. He is currently undergoing investigation under the National Investigation Agency, the Anti-Terrorism Squad of India, as well as the Intelligence Bureau. Majeed has allegedly killed at least 55 individuals during his combats.
According to reports, Majeed wants to go back home because the Sunni Islamist group did not give him enough compensation.
"He [Majeed] is suspected to have killed around 55 people as part of Isis and he returned because he was not paid by the terrorist group," stated a senior IB official through an interview with an Indian daily broadsheet called Mid Day.
However, other reports from the Hindustan Times said that the extremist group allegedly provided the jihadist with $2,000 to pay for the treatments of the injuries that he obtained during his combats in Iraq. If this report proves to be more accurate, the Indian authorities believe that ISIS has other plans for Majeed's return to India.
"We have reason to suspect what Majeed has told us so far. Not only was he given money by IS fighters, he was allowed to leave territory controlled by them. It is quite possible he may have contacted his father on their instructions. We need to verify and re-verify all his claims. That's why the NIA was allowed to register a case against him," said an anonymous central counter-terror authority.
The 23-year-old jihadist reportedly joined ISIS after he visited over 20,000 jihadi websites while he was still living in the town called Kalyan.
"Majeed has told his interrogators the IS does all its recruitment online. Its spotters visit jihadi websites and contact possible candidates through social media. That was how he was spotted," a report stated.
The Mumbai-born extremist also shared several shocking details about the insurgent group, saying that the rebels only regard the Indians as weak, menial workers who are not worthy to join the combats. He also said that ISIS has bigger plans for India, and it could be the reason why they allowed him to go home.