Countering radicalisation: Home Min holds meeting with 12 state DGPs to discuss ISI threat

New Delhi: The home ministry has convened a high-level meeting on Saturday to discuss the threat posed by the terror group IS. Attraction to radical ideologies and how to prevent Indian youth from coming under the sway of extremist doctrines would be deliberated threadbare at a high-level meeting. The meeting, to be chaired by Union home secretary LC Goyal, will formalise a strategy for aiding the government’s efforts to neutralise extremist ideologies such as that espoused by IS, which has influenced thousands around the world. Counter-radicalisation efforts would include counselling of youths, convincing community elders to persuade the younger generation to not get influenced by any extremist ideology, monitoring of social media sites and taking of preventive steps. According to an official estimate, around 25 youngsters have been identified across the country as having been attracted to the idea of IS and wanting to join the group. In Telangana, 17 youths have been prevented from travelling to Syria and, recently, four from Maharashtra were also stopped from travelling to the Middle-East. Although none of the youths were arrested, they were kept under surveillance. They went through counselling and are living normal lives. “Attraction towards radical ideology of any religion is a matter of concern. We will have to put in place a system as there are inputs that many Indian youths are attracted to different extremist ideologies, including the ‘Caliphate’ promoted by ISIS,” a home ministry official said. The meeting comes in the backdrop of ISIS kidnapping four Indian teachers in Libya who were returning to India from Tripoli on July 29. Two of those kidnapped were released on Friday. The meeting is expected to be attended by home secretaries and police officers of around 12 states, including Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka and is expected to formalise a strategy for aiding the government’s efforts to neutralise extremist ideologies. [caption id=“attachment_2353826” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Modi and Rajnath Singh on Monday. PTI [/caption]On Friday Foreign Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the incident as also the steps being taken by the ministry to secure their release. Efforts are also on to include community elders to help the young dissuade from getting attracted towards the ideology of the terror group, the sources added. Maharashtra and Telangana have already put in place a model for dealing with IS-related cases. While there have been arrests in some cases, agencies realised that arrest should not be the first option. Monitoring of social media has already begun, sources, meanwhile, said, adding that efforts would be made to gain the confidence of the Muslim community. Till now, 11 Indians have been identified who joined IS, of whom five are reportedly dead. Agencies