'ISIS sympathiser loving, kind-hearted'

Chennai: Satya Street in a sleepy lower-middle-class neighbourhood in Kottivakkam is where Swalih Mohammed, one of several alleged ISIS sympathisers arrested by NIA sleuths, was living with his wife and son since last June.

Swalih, as known to his wife, was a peace-loving man whose love for her and their son is immense and the woman is yet to recover from the trauma of NIA sleuths coming knocking on her doors when she was expecting Swalih.

Jensina, who got married to Swalih after they fell in love while working in a BPO in the IT Corridor four years ago, took exception to the accusations made by the NIA sleuths.

The sleuths who searched her residence confiscated her mobile phone and some documents, which they said would help their case against Swalih to whom the NIA gave the aliases Yousuf and Abu Hasna. Swalih is how his friends and neighbours, including the landlord, knew him.

A friend and roomie of Swalih knew him as a pious person who would not miss prayers.  The landlord Dhanasekaran struggled to identify his tenant when the cops flashed a picture of Swalih, in a clean shaven face, as opposed to the bearded face which the latter would always sport.

"Swalih wanted Rs 30,000 advance to be returned immediately earlier in September so that he could relocate to Kerala, but I made it clear that he had to wait until November to get the money,” Dhanasekaran told the media.

Swalih, a class XII pass, is proficient in using computers. He would leave for work at 8.30 am and return at 11 pm and he claimed to be part of a private exotic resort club in a mall in Royapettah.

Group was in touch on WhatsApp

The six people arrested by NIA for alleged links with IS had never met each other, but were in touch through WhatsApp and had exchanged chats regularly.

NIA sources said Manseed alias Omar is suspected to be the head of the module and was the administrator of the WhatsApp group and he in fact communicated to them about the meeting through a chat.

All the six, who were in different places, had reached Kannur on  October 1 for the meeting and were picked up on October 2.