UK's intelligence service MI5 contacted Indian Jihadi John

London: Britain’s intelligence services had tried to recruit Indian-origin IS terror suspect Siddhartha Dhar as a double agent before he managed to flee to Syria, a media report here claimed on Sunday.

Dhar, who was dubbed the ‘new Jihadi John’ after he emerged the key suspect as the masked terrorist seen in a recent Islamic State video threatening an attack on Britain, was allegedly contacted twice by MI5 officers before he was arrested for terrorist offences, the ‘Sunday Times’ reported. Quoting a security source, the paper said that Dhar, who goes by the name of Abu Rumaysah, had earlier been tracked and stopped in the street by MI5 officers in what is known as a ‘bump’ operation.

The 32-year-old Dhar was warned he was on MI5’s ‘radar’ and his activities were being monitored. Dhar was contacted by MI5 for a second time and was offered the chance to work for the agency.

Meanwhile, Dhar’s sister has said that he isready to die for the terror group.

London-based Konika Dhar had received a message from her brother Siddhartha Dhar, last year after he had skipped bail and fled the UK with his  wife and four children.