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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| @shamiwitness: India arrests man over pro-Islamic State tweets | @shamiwitness: India arrests man over pro-Islamic State tweets |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A man suspected of running an influential Twitter account promoting Islamic State (IS) has been arrested in southern India, police say. | A man suspected of running an influential Twitter account promoting Islamic State (IS) has been arrested in southern India, police say. |
| The man, a 24-year-old working in Bangalore, was named as Mehdi Masroor Biswas. | The man, a 24-year-old working in Bangalore, was named as Mehdi Masroor Biswas. |
| It comes after the British Channel 4 News said it had identified the man running the account. | |
| The @ShamiWitness account, which has since closed, provided news on IS and celebrated its rise in Syria and Iraq. | The @ShamiWitness account, which has since closed, provided news on IS and celebrated its rise in Syria and Iraq. |
| Police said Mr Biswas was arrested for cyber-terrorism offences and crimes against the state, but they do not believe he has actual links to IS. | Police said Mr Biswas was arrested for cyber-terrorism offences and crimes against the state, but they do not believe he has actual links to IS. |
| 'Family needs me' | 'Family needs me' |
| An engineer by training, Mr Biswas went online late at night to "ferociously tweet" information about IS, police said. | An engineer by training, Mr Biswas went online late at night to "ferociously tweet" information about IS, police said. |
| With nearly 18,000 followers, @ShamiWitness was one of the main sources of information about the group in English. | With nearly 18,000 followers, @ShamiWitness was one of the main sources of information about the group in English. |
| The IS militant group has used social media to recruit foreign fighters and to disseminate videos of their fighters beheading Western journalists and aid workers. | The IS militant group has used social media to recruit foreign fighters and to disseminate videos of their fighters beheading Western journalists and aid workers. |
| The Channel 4 News report said he told followers that he would have joined IS himself if his family did not depend on him. | |
| "If I had a chance to leave everything and join them I might have... my family needs me here," he said. | "If I had a chance to leave everything and join them I might have... my family needs me here," he said. |