In an attempt to ameliorate youngsters, who have been influenced by armed terrorism, Adityanath government has launched a de-radicalisation programme. The initiative has been taken up by the ATS (Anti-terrorism squad) UP, who are working on the project to help the ‘misguided’ youths of our country, to stop them from joining organizations like the ISIS.
ATS UP launches de-radicalisation programme for misguided youth getting radicalised. Parents can contact 9792103156 pic.twitter.com/CguuXxuPRF
— RAHUL SRIVASTAV (@upcoprahul) April 26, 2017
This project would arrange counseling sessions for radicalized youth before they choose terrorism. The project, which was announced on Wednesday, also aims to help the family of these radicalized persons, who can now reach out to the police easily. “Often in such cases, people don’t know what to do,” the Uttar Pradesh Police said.
The UP police also promised that no youth would ever be forced to become an informer to the project. Meanwhile, the 6 youngsters, who were detained by the Uttar Pradesh Police last week for alleged links with ISIS have now been made part of the project which the force terms as ‘Ghar Wapasi’.
However, the 6 detained men have not been arrested as “there was no concrete evidence against them or explicit involvement in terror but were found to be walking towards the path of terror,” says UP Anti-Terrorism Squad Chief Asim Arun.
Ghar Wapasi would include religious leaders, friends, and family for motivation. Also, the counseling sessions and interactions are expected to last for about 12 months. However, the UP ATS promises to maintain utmost secrecy in these meetings and the identity of the said person will also be kept a secret. The initial interactions/sessions would be frequent; however, it would slow down over time. According to a statement issued by the UP police, the de-radicalisation or ‘Ghar Wapasi’ process would only finish once the youth settles down in life.
UP government’s move comes soon after a report which said that youth inspired by the ideology of ISIS had resorted to violence and traveled abroad to join them. Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj told parliament this month, that about 50 radicalized youth had crossed over to the other side.
The Union Home Ministry estimates a total of 80 youth have been radicalized by the ISIS propaganda through social media and Internet.
