Indian police arrest 'jihadi tweeter'

Indian police yesterday arrested a 24-year-old believed to be the handler of an influential Twitter account supporting the Islamic State group, officials said.

Mehdi Masroor Biswas, who works for an Indian food conglomerate in the southern city of Bangalore, is alleged to be behind the Twitter account @ShamiWitness.

The account had 17,700 followers, including many foreigners fighting for the ISIS in Syria and Iraq, until it was shut down following a report by Britain's Channel 4 News on Thursday.

Tweets from @ShamiWitness contained jihadist propaganda as well as information for would-be recruits and messages praising fallen fighters as martyrs.

Police in Bangalore raided his house in an upscale suburb early yesterday and seized his mobile phone, laptop and other documents for evidence.

"He has confessed to the fact that he was operating Shami Witness Twitter account for the last many years," a police source said.

India's moderate population of 150 million Muslims have not often been drawn into sectarian conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere.

However, Biswas's arrest has further fuelled fears that IS militants are attempting to recruit radicalised Muslim youngsters online.