How UP ATS tracked Islamic State operatives and killed Saifullah in Lucknow - REVEALED

New Delhi: A day after security forces killed Saifullah - who was a 'self-radicalised' terrorist inspired by the jihadi ideology of terror outfit Islamic State – chilling details of the entire operation was conducted has now come to fore.

According to a Time of India report, the intelligence experts from Telangana actually played a major role in busting the ISIS terror network as they helped the MP and UP policemen to track and finally arrest several members of its Khorasan terror module.

As per the reports, a dedicated team of intelligence officials – entrusted with the task of tracking terror groups – managed to pin point the exact location of the ISIS terror suspects by deciphering the encrypted online conversations and passed on all vital information to the UP and MP police.

Interestingly, the Telangana intelligence unit initially missed the actualisation of the terror plans narrowly due to the lag in decoding encryption.

However, it managed to extract crucial details later by closely scouring the web, following the movements of suspects who were arrested from MP and Uttar Pradesh, as well as Saifullah who was killed by the UP ATS in Lucknow's Thakurganj, much before before they executed their terror plan. 

"All the inputs regarding identity and location of the radicalised, IS-inspired suspects came from the intelligence-cum-IT experts of Telangana police, which immediately shared these for further action. Unfortunately, though they busted the module, they could not get a sense of its terror plan in real time. This happens sometimes as it is not always possible for intelligence to immediately decipher the encrypted online conversations," a senior intelligence officer was quoted as said.

Major lead into the case soon after the blast in the Bhopal-Ujjain train after which the Telangana intelligence experts went on a war-mode to pinpoint the location of the suspects based on phone intercepts and online activity.

Notably, the intelligence wing of the Telangana Police has emerged as a pioneer in tracking IS activity and it is regularly providing crucial leads to IB and RAW to track radicalised "lone-wolf" operatives as well as modules in touch with foreign-based handlers. 

This task is being carried out by other state police forces and central agencies too but the Telangana team seems to have become adept at the task.

According to sources, the Telangana 'IS' trackers are a small dedicated group which is rewarded with resources as well as financial incentives to deliver. They often travel abroad, mostly to Gulf countries, to track members of the Indian diaspora working as head-hunters for IS or carrying out online radicalisation. 

"Many IS operatives were deported to India after months of tracking by these experts, who would then pass off this information to RAW," said a central government officer who has worked closely with the Telangana police.