It is alleged that Siddhartha Dhar, also known as Abu Rumaysah after his conversion to Islam, had skipped bail and fled Britain in 2014 with his wife and their four children to join IS in Syria.
LONDON – The terrorist dubbed “new Jihadi John” who appeared in the latest Islamic State video threatening attacks on the UK is believed to be Indian-origin British Muslim convert, media reports said.
It is alleged that Siddhartha Dhar, also known as Abu Rumaysah after his conversion to Islam, had skipped bail and fled Britain in 2014 with his wife and their four children to join IS in Syria.
Born a Hindu, the 32-year-old ran a business renting out bouncy castles in London before converting to Islam and joining the radical Islamist group Al Muhajiroun.
An official source told the BBC that Dhar is the focus of investigations into the video, which purports to show the killing of five men IS says were spying for the UK.
“I don’t know, I’m not sure of the voice. I just cannot say. I’m not sure within myself whether it is the truth or not,” Dhar’s mother Sobita Dhar told The Daily Telegraph.
His sister, Konika Dhar, from London, said: “I believed the audio to resemble the voice of my brother but having viewed the short clip, I wasn’t entirely convinced, which put me at ease. I can’t believe it. This is just so shocking for me. I don’t know what the authorities are doing to confirm the identity, but I need to know if it is.”
She said her brother had converted to Islam more than 10 years ago and her memories of him are from when they were teenagers.
“He was a very pleasant boy, and I know it may be hard to believe but he still is, and I believe that he still can be that person,” she added.
One of Dhar’s former associates said he had “no doubt” the voice was that of Dhar, who had been arrested on suspicion of encouraging terrorism but was later able to travel to Syria.
His former neighbours from Walthamstow in east London claimed Dhar’s wife was more devout than him and suggest she may have put him on the path to extremism.
