Jobless youth easy prey for terrorists

HYDERABAD: Syed Abdul Aziz, who was shot dead in an ''encounter'' by the police on Sunday, seems to fit the pattern of many Hyderabadi young men who join extremist organisations out of sheer desperation.
Aziz belonged to a lower middle class family and lived in a two-room government house in Malakpet. His father, Syed Abdul Rasheed, the only earning member of the family of seven, worked in a government blood bank.
Aziz was the eldest of five children.He had a decent academic record and had completed his intermediate education from the Dawn High School in Kanchanbagh. He had secured about 50 per cent in his Inter examination.
Yet, he remained unemployed for about five years. When his efforts to land a job proved futile, he decided to go abroad.
Police sources said he contacted a Mumbai-based travel agent, Zaireen Travel Service, to go to Riyadh in 2000. The travel agency had offered him the job of a security guard in Riyadh. Aziz paid Rs 2 lakh to get the job, sources said.
He applied for a visa from the Mumbai consulate and later submitted a passport application here. His sponsor was Khalf Mohammed Abdullah of Riyadh. Aziz''s family had maintained that the Sheikh was a cruel employer and that he paid poor salaries.
The family said Aziz did not send them a penny since he went abroad. He had told his parents over the phone that he did not get enough for himself and that it was difficult to send money home.
Aziz''s travel documents too were seized by the Sheikh. Aziz left the Sheikh''s employment in desperation and went to Arar. When Aziz called home six months ago — that was his last call — he said he had failed to get a job.
Police sources said it was in Riyadh that Lashkar-e-Tayyeba operatives contacted Aziz and later took him under their wing. "Aziz fits the bill of young men who take to crime to make money. No doubt LeT''s religious indoctrination also played a part," an officer remarked.