Daijiworld Media Network – Kannur
Kannur, Oct 26: Three men from Kerala’s Kannur district who had tried to sneak into Syria from Turkey and deported to India, were arrested by police for suspected links with Islamic State (IS) operatives.
Four months back, Mithilaj KC (26) Abdul Razak KV (24) and Rasheed MV (27) were deported from Istanbul after their attempt to enter Syria failed. Ever since, the police have been closely monitoring their activities.
Senior police officer PP Sadanandan said the trio were active on websites with links to ISIS and were being trained.
“We are probing for more details to figure out the recruitment process, the indoctrination methods and their funding,” he added.
The trio had earlier been activists of right-wing Muslim outfit Popular Front of India (PFI).
A source reveals that the trio during initial questioning had blurted that at least four people from Kannur district are believed to be still fighting for the IS in Syria, and 10 people from the state have lost their lives while fighting for the terror outfit.
In October 2016, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had arrested six men from Tamil Nadu and Kerala, involved in the Omar Al-Hindi IS module from Kannur.
The NIA charge sheets reveal that these men had entered a criminal conspiracy to wage a war against India. They were planning to plant explosives targeting "prominent persons and places of public importance" in south India.
Even after their arrest, Jihadi propaganda groups on social media claimed that another group is working on the plan. Hence, migrating to join the terror outfits is not the sole issue. There are people who obtain Jihadi training and return to India under various circumstances. Even they have to be treated as a potential threat," says Sadanandan.
Mithilaj, Abdul Razak KV and Rasheed MV have been charged under the anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, which outlaws people from associating and supporting a terrorist organization. If convicted, they could be jailed for a maximum of 10 years.
On Wednesday, the NIA secured five days' police custody of suspected IS operative Shahjahan Velluvakandy (32), a native of Kannur. In July, Velluvakandy was arrested from Delhi when he was deported for the second time from Turkey.
"He is an ISIS operative, who had gone to Turkey/Syria for carrying out terrorist activities after procuring an Indian passport (under a fake name)," the NIA said in a statement.
Most suspected IS operatives from Kannur had gone to Syria, while members of the Kasargod module (21 people missing since June 2016) are believed to be in Afghanistan. It has been estimated that around 100 Indians have left to fight for the Islamic State in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere.