Hyderabad: Father of ISIS sympathiser says son did nothing illegal

The father of the city-based youth, arrested by the Cyberabad police when he was allegedly on his way to Dubai to join the Middle East terror group ISIS, said on Saturday that his son has not done anything illegal.

"There is a difference between thinking and action. He has not done anything illegal. May be on the laptop some sympathy factor may be there for some organisations (in his writing). I don't deny that. But I have never spoken about politics with my son," Ahmed Moinuddin, a retired engineer, said. Hyderabad resident Salman Mohiuddin was planning to go to Syria via Turkey to join the ISIS, police said.

Salman was going to Dubai for a job as he could not get family visa for USA, he said on being asked about why his son wanted to visit the gulf country. According to the police, Salman had created various Facebook groups under pseudonyms and he was in touch with people interested in ISIS. He returned to India in the last week of October 2014 after he was denied extension of visa by the US authorities.

He allegedly intended to undergo training in Syria and return to indulge in anti-national activities, police said. Salman was arrested yesterday under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Information Technology Act.