Authorities in Bengaluru have arrested an IT exec behind one of the most influential Islamic State Twitter accounts.
Mehdi Mehboob Biswas was revealed as the man behind the most popular social media mouthpiece for the Jihadi group – an account going by the name of @ShamiWitness with more than 17,000 followers - following an investigation by Channel 4 News.
The account posted regular messages praising Islamic State actions in Syria and Iraq.
ShamiWitness also frequently shared gruesome videos depicting the murders of journalists aid workers and non-Muslims by IS militants.
Bengaluru police have confirmed that Mr Biswas, who works for a food company in the south Indian city, has confessed to operating the account.
However, he has denied breaking the law.
He told Channel 4 News: "I haven't done anything wrong. I haven't harmed anybody, I haven't broken any laws of the country.”
"I haven't raised any war or any violence against the public of India. I just said stuff, people followed me, then I followed them back and then we talked.
“I only knew what the Isis fighters or sympathisers said in public tweets."
Although his Twitter name suggested he was in Syria, Mr Biswas admitted he had not travelled to join Isil because his family was financially dependent on him.
According to reports, Indian intelligence agencies are said to be investigating if Mr Biswas’ social media activities constitute violations of Indian terror laws.
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