Jihadi suspected to be of Indian origin

Siddhartha Dhar, also known as Abu Rumaysah, had skipped bail and fled Britain in 2014 with his wife and their four children to join ISIS 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 said Dhar is the focus of investigations into the video, which purports to show the killing of five men ISIS says were spying for the UK. Dhar’s mother and sister have also watched the video, released by ISIS on Sunday, and noticed similarities between the voice of the masked terrorist, being referred to as the “new Jihadi John” by the British media. 

Sobita Dhar, his north London-based mother said, “I heard the voice, yes, but I don’t know, I’m not sure of the voice.” His sister Konika Dhar felt the audio resembled her brother’s, “ but having viewed the short clip in detail, I wasn’t entirely convinced which put me at ease,” she said. She said her brother had converted to Islam more than 10 years ago. 

A former business associate of Dhar’s said he had “no doubt” the voice on the video was that of Dhar, who travelled to Syria after being bailed. His former neighbours from Walthamstow in east London claimed Dhar’s wife was more devout than him.