Indians deported from Turkey let off with warning

A nine-member Indian group, which was deported from Turkey and detained here on arrival Jan 30, has been set free with a stern warning against making attempts in future to engage in social activities in areas controlled by the Islamic State militant group, a top police official said Monday.

"We let them off, as no incriminating material (documents) or any evidence was found against them. No case was registered but they were warned against making such attempts in future," Bengaluru police commissioner M.N. Reddi told reporters here.

During interrogation by the city crime branch sleuths, the group members admitted they planned to engage in social activities in Syria and other areas controlled by the IS.

"We wanted to help thousands of citizens, especially women and children caught in strife-torn Iraq and Syria," an investigating officer quoted one of the group members as saying during interrogation.

Reddi said the members "were influenced by religious books and believed that they would go to heaven if they fight and die for Islam".

The group was stopped at the Turkish border while attempting to cross over to Syria and deported to Bengaluru Jan 30.

Of those deported were 46-year-old Muhammed Abdul Ahad, his wife and five children from Chennai, 24-year-old Javed Baba from Khammam district of Telangana and 24-year-old Ibrahim Nowfal from Hassan in Karnataka.

Ahad, who has a master's degree in computer science from Kennedy-Western University in California, worked in the US for over a decade, while Javeed and Nowfal are engineers.