Bengaluru: Parents of the arrested pro-IS tweeter Mehdi Masroor Biswas met their son, who is in police custody, on Wednesday. Mikhael Biswas and Mamtaz Begum had landed in the city on Tuesday night.
Police sources said that it was a very emotional reunion. All three broke down during the meeting. An official said that the parents were only allowed to speak to Mehdi in the presence of police officers.
The parents turned up at the city police commissioner’s office in the morning from where they were reportedly taken to an undisclosed location, where the meeting took place.
Earlier in the day, the parents met Police Commissioner M.N. Reddi with an appeal to carry out a fair probe. “They claimed that their son is innocent. I have assured a fair probe,” Mr. Reddi said.
Sources said that the city police have had a long discussion with Mehdi’s parents about his childhood, his influences and activities to get a clearer picture of his personal life. However, Mr Reddi denied that the parents were either detained or questioned.
Meanwhile, the five-day police custody of Mehdi would end on Thursday. Police will be seeking an extension.
A senior officer said that the probe is turning out to be a long and tedious process, as it involves the review of a huge amount of digital data and, later cross-checking with Mehdi. The officer said most of the material is in Arabic and translation is taking time. Twitter India had submitted all information sought by the police on Monday. Officers are manually analysing all the 1.3 lakh tweets. They are considering using specialised software for the same.
He said Mehdi was booked under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, which provides for a maximum of 30 days’ police custody, which the city police are looking forward to utilise to the fullest.
When contacted, Mehdi’s parents told The Hindu that they were yet to hire a lawyer to represent their son.
