A suspected ISIS militant is being hunted in India over fears they are planning to carry out attacks while Kate and William are visiting the country.
The Sikh-Canadian woman is believed to be travelling to Delhi to link up with associates already lying in wait in the city.
Intelligence agencies have the passport details of the 35-year-old and an alert has been sent to airports and other security services tracking jihadists.
The manhunt comes as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge spent their second day in the Indian capital, where they met underprivileged children at the city’s train station before having lunch with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Police also issued a terror alert days before their trip, warning that three jihadists may have entered the country and could target Delhi, Goa and Mumbai – the city where the couple began their tour.
In the latest warning, Mail Today reported that it had details of Canadian’s passport but her identity was being withheld due to the ongoing intelligence operation.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which has arrested 25 recruits and is probing several cases related to ISIS, has also been called in.
Sources said the information regarding the possible entry of the Canadian-Indian woman was shared with Indian intelligence agencies by their counterparts in another country.
Intelligence reports have recently raised fears of Indians living abroad being attracted to the Sunni jihadi group, which has lured hundreds of youths from the West.
Sources say over 40 people suspected of having links with ISIS have been arrested from across the country.
A total of 24 Indians have so far joined the terror outfit, of whom six were reportedly killed in different incidents.
While two returned, 16 are still reportedly part of ISIS. Several Indian youths aspiring to join ISIS have been stopped from travelling abroad.
An intelligence official said: ‘In the past, Adil Fayaz Wada, an Indian living in Australia, travelled to Syria to be part of jihad.
‘This is the first time, though, that information has been generated of a Sikh living abroad and suspected of having links with ISIS.’
One of the Indians reportedly killed fighting in Syria, Atif Vaseem Mohammed, who was a resident of Hyderabad, also lived in the US for a brief period before returning to India and travelling to Syria.
Some Indians living in UAE have been identified for their alleged ISIS links.
In January, three Indian nationals who were based in Abu Dhabi were deported and later arrested by the NIA on suspicion of being involved in activities linked to ISIS.
The growing influence of ISIS on Indians living in the Gulf has alarmed the security establishment.
The concern was flagged at a recent meeting chaired by union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to combat the ISIS threat.
‘Several Indians living in the Gulf are getting attracted to ISIS,’ a government official said.
‘These are Indian citizens and the threat of them coming back and carrying out strikes in the name of ISIS cannot be ignored.’
Sources said it is feared that many members of home-grown terror group Indian Mujahideen who fled the country following a crackdown ended up fighting on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border or the Af-Pak region, before joining ISIS.
Earlier in the year, the NIA busted an Indian module drawing inspiration from ISIS called Janoodul- Khalifa-e-Hind, or the Army of Caliph in India, after countrywide raids prompted several arrests.
India adopted a unique strategy to combat the ISIS threat by carrying out a de-radicalisaiton programme for young people attracted by ISIS ideology.
Some went through counselling sessions, but the hardened ones were arrested.
the-star.co.ke
