Mumbai men with suspected ISIS links brought to Kochi for probe

Two men, arrested from Mumbai for allegedly recruiting youths to ISIS, were brought in Kochi on Sunday as part of Kerala Police's probe into a complaint that the duo radicalised youths from the state and forced them to join the terror outfit abroad.

Arshi Qureshi and Rizwan Khan, arrested by Kerala Police in assistance with Maharashtra Police in two separate operations last week, were brought to Kochi by air and later taken to a destination under tight security for questioning, police said.

While Qureshi, allegedly associated with controversial preacher Zakir Naik's Islamic Research Foundation, was arrested on July 21, Khan was picked up from his residence at Kalyan in Thane district on Friday night. Both were produced in a local court, which sent them to transit remand till July 25.

Kerala Police had traced Qureshi to Mumbai following a complaint lodged in Kochi by the brother of a young woman, who is suspected to have joined ISIS along with her husband.

Ebin Jacob (25), brother of Merin alias Mariam who is missing along with her husband Bestin Vincent alias Yahia from Kerala, had told Palarivattom police in Kochi that there was an attempt to forcibly convert him to Islam and make him join ISIS, and that Bestin and Qureshi were behind it.

Based on this, Kerala Police slapped charges under Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act on the duo and booked them under sections of the IPC. At least 21 youths from Kerala were reported missing and suspected to have joined ISIS.